Values and meaningful action / VAL-A10-3
Willingness in Small Doses — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about willingness in small doses while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Avery is nervous about asking a routine question.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. Values-based action can include manageable discomfort without requiring exposure to danger.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore willingness in small doses using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: Values-based action can include manageable discomfort without requiring exposure to danger. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Identify a low-stakes action, likely feelings, and the support or limit needed to attempt it. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Avery is nervous about asking a routine question.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What discomfort is optional to make room for, and what signals a need to stop? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What discomfort is optional to make room for, and what signals a need to stop?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
Conceptual background
Valuing as a Choice — Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.