Values Clarification

Activity Title: Values Discussion: Lets Talk Values!

Source: Dattilo, J., & McKenney, A. (2016). Facilitation Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation
(3rd Ed.). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Equipment:

Paper
Pen
Chairs
Tables

Activity Description: The purpose of this activity is for the individual to find clarification in
their values. Values clarification, also referred to as values development, is a component of TR
that helps people to answer some of the questions they may have about their goals, inspirations,
interest and beliefs, and leisure, (Dattilo & McKenney, 2016). This activity purpose is for the
participant to learn about his or her values and what other perceive to be their values. This
activity is a group session with a teacher. The teacher will divide them into groups of three or
four (depending on how many participants are in this session). They will be instructed to review
and pick a topic from a list of topics that the teacher will provide them with. Some examples of
topics that will be listed include (a) Say something about drugs and The best thing about

today is. The individuals will then be asked to discuss the topic for a few minutes and listen to
each participants values as they speak within the group. After discussing it within their group,
they will then discuss the values they learned about themselves and what others perceived to be
their values in front of the entire group session.
Leadership Consideration: The CTRS could function as the teacher in this activity and is in
close approximation to the individuals. Some safety precautions the CTRS should consider is to
have all the individuals speak in a respectful manner towards other participants during the
discussions of the topics. Also, they should make sure that everyone in the session had a time to
speak and express their values. The participants should be respectful to listen to everyones
values.
Adaptations for individuals with Substance Use Disorder: The Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), no longer uses the term substance abuse
and substance dependent, rather it refers to substance use disorders, which are defined as mild,
moderate, or severe to indicate the level of severity, which is determined by the number of
diagnostic criteria met by an individual, (2015). Substance use disorders occurs when repetitive
use of alcohol and/or drugs effects the daily task of an individual such as: causing health
complications, incapacity, personal relationships, and responsibilities at work, school, or at
home. More specified disorders that fall under substance use disorders are: alcohol use disorder,
tobacco use disorder, opioid use disorder, cannabis use disorder, hallucinogen use disorder, and
stimulant use disorder. An adaptation that could be used in this activity for any of these disorders
is google information on this substance abuse. For example, lets say you have an individual who
has alcohol use disorder. During these sessions, family, CTRS, or personal friends should
provide social support to the individual. They should have the participant research on the overuse
of drinking alcohol too much. After researching this topic, have them tell the CTRS or the group
on what they learned and how does alcohol feel to him or her. After explaining his value, have
each family member or friend express their values on drinking. They could mention experiences
or other information to discuss so the individual could see the values of other individuals. This
session could be used as an eight week program with the sessions lasting an hour twice a week.
Adaptations for individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Posttraumatic stress
disorder, or PTSD, is a serious potentially debilitating condition that can occur in people who
have experienced or witnessed a natural disaster, serious accident, terrorist incident, sudden
death of a loved one, war, violent personal assault such as rape, or other life-threatening events,
(2016). An adaptation that could be used is having this session as a group session with other
individuals that are experiencing the same things. For example, if you have an individual that has
been serving in the US Army and has been in combat for three years. They return home from war
and are experiencing PTSD and are having a hard time adapting to life. During this activity,
having a group session with other individuals who had served would help the individual. They
could talk about topics that they could do after war. Examples of gender topics they could talk
about are: political debates, current events, war, and war tactics. Having them talk about war
with other individuals and telling them what they experience would help them to move on. They
could even do research on topics on what they could do after war.

Adaptation Reference:
Substance Use Disorders. (2015, October 27). Retrieved October 14, 2016, from
http://www.samhsa.gov/disorders/substance-use
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). (2016, June). Retrieved October 14, 2016, from
https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd