Family dynamics worksheets
Summary
Use values cards as a versatile clinical tool to help clients identify their guiding principles and improve decision-making across personal and professional domains.
Implement the values card sort activity to categorize beliefs into priority levels, allowing for more focused goal setting and increased self-awareness.
Apply values-based exercises within ACT or motivational interviewing frameworks to resolve internal conflicts and foster greater life satisfaction.
Strengthen therapeutic outcomes by using reflection prompts that bridge the gap between a client’s daily behaviors and their deeply held core beliefs.
Exploring values with clients is a great way for them to enhance their self-awareness, clarify what matters, and understand what drives their behavior and perspective on life.
This article provides therapists with an overview of values cards and examples of values card sort activities to use with clients.
We’ve included a free downloadable values card sort activity to save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
What are values cards?
Values exercises, like a values card sort, are a great way to help clients clarify their core values—the things that matter most to them.
Values are our guiding principles. When we align with our values, they act as a compass, guiding us to act in a way that honors what is most important to us, and influencing our decisions and behavior.
Values cards are one way clients can better understand their values by clarifying what is most important to them. The values card sort activity is used in multiple settings and is suitable for individuals, couples, and families.
The exercise might be used in therapy, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), motivational interviewing, career counseling, or couples therapy.
Getting clear on values has several benefits, including:
Increased self-awareness: Clarifying core values helps clients understand what is important in the main domains of their life, such as home, career, social life, school, and relationships.
Strengthened goal setting: When goals align with core values, people are more likely to be motivated to pursue and achieve them, which provides a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Growth opportunities: Values cards and other activities can help identify growth areas, such as strengthening emotional regulation skills to enjoy more social interactions with family.
Resolve value conflicts: Participating in group- or couples-based values card exercises can help identify any value conflicts. For example, one person may value autonomy more than community, which can help find areas of compromise to find more relational harmony.
Greater life satisfaction: People who are clear on their goals and values may find their life more meaningful and fulfilling, leading to greater mental and physical health and well-being.
Values card sort activity
The exercise is simple and involves sorting a deck of cards with different values written on each card into three to five categories:
Most important to me
Very important to me
Important to me
Somewhat important to me
Not important to me
Example values commonly used in ACT-informed works include values such as accepting, adventurous, caring, committed, community, compassionate, efficient, engaged, fair, friendly, genuine, grateful, helpful, mindful, open, supportive, trusting, and trustworthy. However, there are many values you could add to this list based on client needs.
Once clients have identified initial values, guide them to refine their "very important" and "most important" piles by narrowing their selection to five to 10 values cards. From there, clients can rank these values in order of personal importance.
When processing values work in session, consider using the following reflective prompts to help clients deepen their understanding of their values and identify opportunities for change and growth:
How do these values show up in your life?
What does this value mean to you?
What values are most important to you in different areas, like school, work, home, and relationships?
Are your behaviors aligned with these core values? If not, why not?
Which values are showing up in your daily life?
Have you noticed differences in each other's core values? How does that insight influence how you look at your relationship, conflicts, or how you make decisions?
What changes could you make to achieve more alignment with your values?
How did getting clear on your values impact your outlook on specific challenges you’ve faced or may face in the future?
How to use values cards for therapy
You can download and use the values cards in several ways.
For instance, print or screen share the values sort worksheet and use it as a session psychoeducational prompt.
Give the values cards printable free worksheet to the client to remind them of what you discussed during therapy. Ask the client to reflect on the values card sort activity between sessions, answer the reflection prompts, and report their progress at their next therapy appointment.
When working with a couple or family, you could use the worksheet as value discussion cards to identify any value conflicts.
Sources
Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.
Harris, R. (2014). Complete worksheets. The Happiness Trap.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Miller, W. R., C’de Baca, J., Matthews, D. B., & Wilbourne, P. L. (2011). Personal values card sort. University of New Mexico.
Berkout O. V. (2021). Working With Values: An Overview of Approaches and Considerations in Implementation. Behavior analysis in practice.
Zhang, C. Q., Leeming, E., Smith, P., Chung, P. K., Hagger, M. S., & Hayes, S. C. (2018). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Health Behavior Change: A Contextually-Driven Approach. Frontiers in Psychology.
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