Values and meaningful action / VAL-A15-3
Values in Work and Rest — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about values in work and rest while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Avery values dependability and needs time away from work to sustain it.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. Rest can be considered alongside contribution without requiring productivity to justify it.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore values in work and rest 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: Rest can be considered alongside contribution without requiring productivity to justify it. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Describe desired qualities in work and rest, then identify one adjustment to current demands. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Avery values dependability and needs time away from work to sustain it.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What balance respects capacity rather than an idealized schedule? 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 balance respects capacity rather than an idealized schedule?
- 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.