COMMITMENT TO AWARENESS: The overarching principle of this model is to live consciously moment-to-moment, becoming the architect of our lives, free to make choices. Many of us live robotically, imprisoned by habit, guided by the dictates of family, religion, and society, adhering to customs, traditions, and beliefs passed on from previous generations without questioning WHO AM I?, WHAT DO I BELIEVE?, WHAT ARE MY GIFTS?, WHAT AM I DISAVOWING ABOUT MYSELF? Commitment to awareness is a dedicated effort to knowing oneself. In addition to this principle five values comprise the Values Based Model © :

OPEN, HONEST, AND DIRECT COMMUNICATION
Briefly this requires each community member to choose verbal communication that is genuine, without hidden agendas, and directed to the appropriate
person(s) at all times.

RESPECT FOR SELF AND OTHERS
Choices to treat oneself respectfully are expected including proper sleep, diet, exercise, and open communication about feeling states. Timeliness to groups, appropriate expressions of affect without demeaning, dismissing, or exploiting others is also included in this value.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE'S CHOICES
No matter what happens to us, once we are adults we have choices regarding our responses, both verbally and behaviorally. It is not someone else's responsibility to manage our feelings or safety. Remaining in a victim state blaming others for the course of our life is the opposite of responsibility.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO OTHERS AND THE WILLINGNESS TO HOLD OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE
Our choices have impact on others and our growth requires openness to hearing and reflecting on that impact. Even more challenging may be the willingness to confront others with the impact of their choices both on themselves and on us. Both are necessary for treatment to progress or for any relationship to deepen.

INCLUSION
The value of inclusion in its broadest meaning embraces all of humanity, regardless of differences among individuals or groups. Race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation are the obvious differences that most often are used to separate individuals and groups. Educational background, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and different points of view can, in varying degrees, also give rise to exclusion. The tendency to be comfortable with likeness as opposed to differences, the familiar as opposed to the unfamiliar, severely limits our personal expansion and growth. We often cling to ritual, habit, and tradition to perpetuate likeness in order to remain comfortable and secure, our thinking and beliefs unchallenged. As a result we are deprived of the depth and richness that diversity affords. On an individual level, inclusion embraces all of our internal parts, including our gifts and disavowed parts as well.