Values Clarification in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Practical Strategies for Individual and Group Settings

About this book

• The only book that demonstrates how the Values Clarification approach can be used in the psychological helping professions.
• Incredibly practical, describing over 40 values clarification strategies with 1,000 or so examples of value-clarifying questions and activities that can be used to help clients work on specific issues.
• Substantial sections covering the history and development of values clarification, theoretical issues, research, multicultural issues, and comparisons between values clarification and other classic and contemporary counseling and therapy approaches

This work meets a long-standing need in the helping professions by being the first and only comprehensive book devoted to these priority-defining and goal-setting values clarification strategies for counseling and psychotherapy by providing a clear description of what values clarification is and is not. The book demonstrates, with great precision and hundreds of clinical examples, how counselors and psychotherapists in many fields can ask good clarifying questions, and employ dozens of strategies with individuals, couples, families, and groups.

Values clarification is perhaps best known for the many values clarification strategies that can be used with individuals and groups to explore a myriad of counseling topics. Values clarification is compared and contrasted to other approaches to counseling and psychotherapy, including person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, reality therapy-choice theory, existential, individual psychology, solution-focused, narrative, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, appreciative inquiry, life coaching, and positive psychology.

Helping clients determine their priorities, set goals, make decisions, and take action to improve their lives are common tasks for virtually all helping professionals when engaging with clients. This is the process known as "values clarification" (or "Values Clarification"). While counselors and psychotherapists widely practice values clarification-some knowingly, others unaware-they typically do so with a limited understanding of its theory, methods and various applications.

The book illustrates extensively how strategies can be carried out in individual counseling and psychotherapy, group counseling and psychotherapy, and psychoeducational work, whatever the subject or topic. The examples throughout the text are often grouped around more specific applications for marriage and family counseling, career counseling, substance abuse and recovery counseling, geriatric counseling, grief counseling, pastoral counseling, financial counseling, school counseling, rehabilitation counseling, counselor/clinical education and supervision, health counseling and personal growth.

Readership: Mental health counselors, marriage and family counselors, substance abuse counselors, career counselors, school counselors, pastoral counselors, health professionals, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers

Table of contents

1: Paul's Case
2: The Values Clarification Approach
3: Implementing Values Clarification
4: The Value-Clarifying Question
5: The Clarifying Interview
6: Values Clarification Strategies
7: Tara's Case
8: Handling Strategic, Values and Moral Conflicts With Clients
9: Some Applications of Values Clarification Counseling
10: Values Clarification and Other Approaches to Counseling and Psychotherapy
11: Theory and Research