A number of cognitive-behavior therapies now strongly emphasize particular behavioral processes as mediators of clinical change specific to that therapy. This shift in emphasis calls for the development of measures sensitive to changes in the therapies' processes. Among these is acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which posits valued living as one of its primary core processes. This article offers a definition of values from a behavioral perspective and describes the Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ ) as a first attempt at assessment of valued living. The VLQ is a relatively brief and easily administered instrument derived directly from the primary text on ACT. Initial psychometric support for the VLQ suggests that valued living can be measured, even with the most simple of instruments, in such a way as to consider it a possible mechanism of change in ACT and related approaches.Key words: behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, Values, Assessment, Valued Living Questionnaire, Acceptance-based psychotherapy, Values-based psychotherapy, Behavioral activation Emerging "third-wave" behavior therapies concentrate on the "construction of broad, flexible, and effective repertoires over an eliminative approach to narrowly defined problems" (Hayes, 2004. p. 658). Functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP; Kohlenberg & Tsai, 1991), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993), integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT; Christensen, Jacobson, & Babcock, 1995; Jacobson & Ch ristensen, 1996; Jacobson, Ch ristensen, Prince, Cordova, & Eldridge, 2000), m indfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT;Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002), behavioral activation (Dimidjian et al., 2006;, and Borkovec's presentmoment-focused approach to the treatment of GA D (e.g., Borkevec & Sharpless, 2004), among others, share this shift in focus.The authors would like to thank Kate Kellum and Frank Bond for their comments on an earlier version of this article.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., University of Mississippi, 205 Peabody Building, University, MS 38677. E-mail: kwilson@onelifellc.com.
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WILSON ET AL.In addition to changes in the focus of treatment outcome, many of these newer therapies propose differences in putative mechanisms of action. Changes in acceptance, m indfulness, distress tolerance, and metacognition, among others, have been proposed as mediators of clinical change. Because of these differences, third-wave behavioral treatments pose significant empirical challenges. Not only do we need to carry the burden of examining their efficacy, but we have the additional challenge of generating and refining measures sensitive to differences in process and outcome.Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT, said as a word, not as individual letters; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) is one among these emergent cognitive behavioral therapies in which change processes and outcome are being examined. ACT is based on a functional contextualist philosophical framework and a contempor...
