Values clarification — identifying what matters most to you at the deepest level — is a cornerstone of ACT therapy for integrative medicine and provides direction when integrative medicine removes other navigational tools.
Why Values Matter for Integrative Medicine
Integrative Medicine often disconnects us from our values through avoidance, withdrawal, and reduced capacity. Reconnecting with values provides:
- Direction when integrative medicine has eliminated other motivation
- Meaning that persists even through difficult integrative medicine periods
- A basis for action independent of how integrative medicine makes you feel
Clarifying Your Values with Integrative Medicine
Ask yourself: 'If my integrative medicine were less present, what would I be doing more of? What kind of person would I be?'
Values are not goals (achievable and done) but ongoing directions: being a present parent, creating beauty, contributing to others.
Values-Based Action in Integrative Medicine
ACT therapy teaches: act according to values even when integrative medicine is present. Small values-aligned actions, despite integrative medicine, are more sustainable than waiting for integrative medicine to lift first.