MATTHEW MCKAY, PH.D.THE WRIGHT INSTITUTE, BERKELEY, CA, USA

NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS, OAKLAND, CA, USA

Values and Willingness:New Strategies to Enhance

Willingness in ACT

3 Types of Values:

1. Self-growth2. Meaning-based values

3. Life Purpose

Self Growth Values: You and Your Relationship to Yourself

DomainsPersonal self-care and healthSpiritualityCreativityLeisure and play (sports; hobbies)Work and CareerPersonal growth and educationSelf kindness and compassion (soothing)

Self Growth Values

Intentions• Specific behavior• When • Where• Frequency

Meaning-Based Values: Service, a Focus Outside of Self

How to find• Talents (explore different eras of life)• Passions—things you love

o Desert island exerciseo One wish exerciseo What moves you/tugs at your heart?

Meaning-Based Values

Domains• Family• Friendships/Social relationships • Community and volunteerism• Environment and nature• People in pain• Creative expression• Animals• Politics and public policy (activism)• Education and teaching

Meaning-Based Values

Intentions• Specific behavior• When • Where• With whom• Frequency

Life Purpose

Definition: A core sense of what our life is about.

We are naturally, intuitively drawn to situations and events that are relevant to our life purpose. What you want to do across many years and many types of situations is a strong indicator of life purpose.

Life purpose involves a reciprocal relationship between learning and doing.

Life Purpose

Discovering life purposeTombstone experience to reveal life purposeLife reviewMindfulness-based journaling

Values Path Exercise—Finding What Gets in the Way of Doing What Matters

(Thank you Joanne Dahl)

Three Barriers to a Values-Based Life: Cognitive, Affective,

and Behavioral Blocks

Developing willingness with cognitive barriers

Thoughts and judgments block action White room meditation-labeling thoughts as you

visualize a valued choice, plan, or activity I’m having the thought that… Find the function of your thought Thank you mind_______

Developing willingness with cognitive barriers

Workability—what happens when you listen to your blocking thoughts? Does it help or hurt you? Negative emotions, outcomes, loss of meaning?

Thought releasing—leaves on a stream. Balloons, Frisbees, clouds, billboards, pop-ups.

Opening the hand Carry it with you (3x5 card)

Developing Willingness with Emotional Barriers

Emotion exposure—brief and prolonged Positive outcome imagery. Project yourself into the

moment where you’ve successfully done everything you set out to do. Notice how you feel, how others react, how situations changes. Write down all positive outcomes. (see handout)

Success story visualization (covert rehearsal) Watch each step of valued behavior, including how others respond and negative emotions (really facing emotional pain). Then visualize all positive outcomes. (see handout)

Developing Willingness with Emotional Barriers

Radical acceptance—basic concept: pain is inevitable and unavoidable. Watch pain come and go—don’t resist or control it. (see radical acceptance handout)

Radical acceptance exercise. Visualize specific values-based intention. Notice negative feelings that come up. Experience emotion as normal part of life, freeing you to do what really matters.

Pain is our birth right, our teacher, the source of humanity and occasional nobility. It is, whatever we might wish, along for our whole journey.

Developing Willingness with Behavioral Barriers

Behavioral barriers include: 1. Pain avoidance habits 2. Skill or knowledge deficits 3. Logistical or technical blocks (money, time, distance, etc).

Develop specific intentions: exact behavior, when, where, with whom, how often?

Develop specific steps.

Developing Willingness with Behavioral Barriers

Identify behavioral avoidance strategies and commit (to self and others) not to use them.

Covert rehearsal. Break new behavior down into multiple steps. Include problems that come up and difficult emotions. Include how you cope (reminding yourself of values) and the exact new behavior you’ll use. Imagine positive rewards of valued behavior.

Use problem solving (D’Zurilla and Goldfried) Identify goal Brainstorm alternative solutions Evaluate to find best choice Evaluate steps and commit to 1st step Set time to evaluate outcomes.