About this worksheet
The values card sort is the classic ACT values-clarification exercise, adapted from William Miller's motivational interviewing card sort. The client is given a deck of 40 values (autonomy, honesty, family, creativity, contribution, growth, faith, freedom, and 32 others), asked to sort them into three piles — Core, Growing, Supporting — then asked to pick their top ten and rank them. The ranking almost always surprises the client. Values they thought were near the top drop; values they'd been apologizing for pulling toward move up. Once the top ten are ranked, each one gets a one-sentence reflection: what would this value look like fully lived, and how is my life actually organized around it right now? The gap between the two is the working material for the rest of the treatment. Use in ACT, in MI-style substance use work, in career and life-transition work, and any time a client's stated goals aren't producing the traction they should.
When to use it
- ACT values-clarification phase, before committed action and behavioral experiments.
- Motivational interviewing for ambivalence — the sort surfaces values pulling both ways.
- Career, relationship, or life-transition work where the client can't articulate what they actually want.
- Depression treatment after affect stabilizes and behavioral activation needs a direction.
How to use it
- 1
Sort into three piles first
Core, Growing, Supporting. No ranking yet — just the first pass to reduce the deck to a working set.
- 2
Pick the top ten from Core and Growing
Client narrows to ten. Most find this uncomfortable — that discomfort is data.
- 3
Rank the top ten in order
Absolute rank, no ties. The forced ranking is what generates insight; comfortable ties defeat the exercise.
- 4
Reflect on the top three
For each of the top three: what would this value look like fully lived, and how is life organized around it now? Write one sentence each.
- 5
Compare to a re-sort in six months
Values shift with the work. Save the initial sort and re-do it periodically — the delta is often the clearest indicator of therapeutic change.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the values card sort come from?+
William Miller's motivational interviewing card sort, adapted widely in ACT for values-clarification work. Both versions use the same core mechanic: rank, then reflect on the gap between valued and lived.
How many cards should the sort have?+
40 is standard — enough to force real choice, few enough to complete in a session. Decks larger than 60 collapse under their own weight; smaller than 25 lose discriminating power.
Is a digital sort as good as physical cards?+
Physical cards feel more concrete and slow the sorting down productively. Digital versions travel better and save snapshots for comparison over time. Both work — use what fits the client.
What if the client can't pick top ten?+
That's often the finding. Sit with the difficulty rather than resolving it — the inability to prioritize is often the clinical material worth exploring.
Is this free?+
Yes. Free printable PDF. Sign in to TherapistAssist for the interactive digital sort with snapshot tracking.
Worksheet — Values Card Sort — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.
