Values clarification — identifying what matters most to you at the deepest level — is a cornerstone of ACT therapy for psychiatry and provides direction when psychiatry removes other navigational tools.
Why Values Matter for Psychiatry
Psychiatry often disconnects us from our values through avoidance, withdrawal, and reduced capacity. Reconnecting with values provides:
- Direction when psychiatry has eliminated other motivation
- Meaning that persists even through difficult psychiatry periods
- A basis for action independent of how psychiatry makes you feel
Clarifying Your Values with Psychiatry
Ask yourself: 'If my psychiatry 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 Psychiatry
ACT therapy teaches: act according to values even when psychiatry is present. Small values-aligned actions, despite psychiatry, are more sustainable than waiting for psychiatry to lift first.