ACT Bullseye Worksheet

Key Takeaways

The ACT bullseye worksheet is a values-clarification tool from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy that helps clients identify what matters most across work, leisure, relationships, and personal growth.

Clients mark an X on a bullseye target diagram to rate how closely their current actions align with their stated values — a visual, concrete method for comparing intentions against behavior.

The worksheet is most effective as an assessment tool, a mid-therapy check-in, or a session opener for clarifying barriers and planning committed action toward values-based living.

Practice management software like Pabau, with digital intake forms and a client portal, helps therapists streamline worksheet administration, store completed assessments securely, and track progress across treatment episodes.

The ACT bullseye worksheet is a visual, evidence-based tool from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy that helps therapists guide clients toward values-based living. Originally developed by Tobias Lundgren and popularized by Russ Harris, it has become a cornerstone assessment in mental health practice — useful for initial intake, mid-therapy reflections, and motivation conversations.

This guide explains what the worksheet is, how to use it clinically, and how to integrate it into your practice management workflow.

What is the ACT bullseye worksheet?

The ACT bullseye worksheet is a paper-based or digital form that helps clients clarify their core values and assess how closely their current behavior aligns with those values.

It sits at the heart of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — a third-wave cognitive-behavioral approach, developed within the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) community, with a research evidence base supporting its use for anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and substance-use disorders.

The worksheet uses a simple but powerful visual: a bullseye (concentric rings) divided into four life domains. Clients name their values in each domain, then mark an X to show how “on track” they currently are.

The distance between their stated values and their X placement often becomes the therapy’s focal point — it highlights the discrepancy between what matters and what they’re actually doing.

This is not a diagnostic tool. It’s a clinical handout — a talking point that opens conversations about psychological flexibility, committed action, and the role of avoidance or fusion in derailing values-based behavior.

The four life domains in the ACT bullseye worksheet

Every ACT bullseye worksheet covers the same four life domains. Understanding what each represents helps you guide clients through the exercise and contextualize their values.

This four-domain structure ensures clients reflect across their whole life, not just one area. Someone might be thriving professionally but neglecting relationships — or exercising regularly but avoiding meaningful work. The breadth of the worksheet mirrors ACT’s commitment to psychological flexibility across contexts.

How to use the ACT bullseye worksheet in your sessions

Using the worksheet effectively requires a structured, collaborative approach. Here are the four clinical steps.

Step 1: Identify values across each domain

Start by asking the client to name 1-3 core values per domain. Use open-ended prompts: “When you imagine yourself at your best in your career, what qualities or goals are present?” Avoid imposing values. The worksheet works only when clients own the values — not when they inherit them from family, culture, or therapy.

Listen for values language: connection, growth, courage, authenticity, contribution. Psychology practices often use digital intake forms to pre-populate values domains before the session, which saves time and gives clients space to reflect in their own words.

Step 2: Mark how on track your actions are

Once values are named, the client marks an X on the bullseye for each domain. The target has concentric rings: the bullseye center means “my actions align perfectly with my values”; outer rings mean “my actions are off track.” This visual instantly surfaces the mismatch between values and behavior.

A client who values “presence in relationships” but marks near the outer ring is seeing their avoidance pattern. No lecture needed — the worksheet does the work. A client portal lets clients complete the worksheet digitally before or after sessions, making it accessible for remote therapy or asynchronous reflection.

Step 3: Identify barriers to values-based living

Now ask: “What’s getting in the way?” Listen for both external barriers (time constraints, caregiving duties) and internal ones (anxiety, self-doubt, old stories, or unresolved trauma that an ABCDE journal PTSD worksheet can help unpack).

This is where ACT shines — it names psychological barriers (cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance) without pathologizing them. The worksheet has space for this naming. Many clinicians find this step reveals the core inflexibility the client needs to work on.

Step 4: Plan committed actions

Close by selecting one domain and asking: “What’s one small, values-aligned action you could take this week?” This turns awareness into behavior change. Automated workflows can flag committed action items and trigger follow-up reminders, ensuring accountability across sessions. Concrete actions — a phone call, a boundary, an hour at the gym — make values tangible.

When to use the ACT bullseye worksheet in clinical practice

Timing matters. The worksheet is not a one-time exercise; it’s a compass you return to throughout therapy.

• Initial assessment: Use the worksheet in session 1 or 2 to establish the client’s values baseline and motivate behavior change. It signals that therapy is about living, not just symptom reduction.
• Mid-therapy check-in: After 4-6 weeks, revisit the worksheet. Clients often move their Xs closer to the bullseye — a visible win that reinforces progress and commitment.
• Session opener: When a client arrives stuck or unfocused, asking “How are you tracking toward your values in [domain]?” refocuses the work on what matters.
• Relapse prevention: At the end of therapy, revisit the worksheet and discuss how the client will maintain values-aligned behavior post-treatment.

The worksheet is not appropriate for acute crisis presentations or clients in severe dissociation. It assumes enough psychological stability to reflect and engage. For high-risk or acutely unwell clients, safety planning takes priority.

Many therapists layer the bullseye alongside other structured tools depending on what a domain calls for: an AA step 1 worksheet when substance use is part of the clinical picture, or a couple communication worksheet when the relationships domain needs deeper work.

How Pabau supports ACT-based documentation and client engagement

Modern practice management software makes worksheet administration seamless. Pabau’s AI scribe automatically structures clinical notes from your session dialogue, including the client’s stated values and bullseye placement — no transcription burden.

The client portal lets clients download and complete the worksheet before arrival, freeing session time for deeper exploration. And secure document storage ensures completed worksheets are retained and auditable for supervision or CQC inspections.

Treatment planning becomes richer too: therapists log values and committed actions directly in the client record, then send automated follow-up messages between sessions to reinforce accountability. The worksheet moves from a static PDF to a living part of the therapy journey.

Ready to integrate ACT tools into your practice? Book a demo with Pabau to see how digital intake forms, client portals, and automated treatment notes can streamline your ACT workflows.

Frequently asked questions