How to Write Short Term Treatment Goals
- 1). Write about the specific activity intended by the goal. For example, if a psychologist assigns a workbook containing exercises for lessening anxiety to a client, a good short-term goal will identify the activity assigned. The goal could be "read chapter 7 and complete exercises 1, 2, and 3." It would not be a specific goal if it were written as "client will work in anxiety workbook," because it's nonspecific. The goal is even better if the clinician specifies what the exercises are, or splits the goals into one for each exercise.
- 2). Write measurable goals by specifying how it will be known when the goal is attained. For many short-term goals, writing by specific measurements, like time, amount, quantity, quality, or change is desirable. For example, a doctor may write "reduce cholesterol by 25 percent of amount measured by blood test." A quality goal is writing something like "the patient will express feelings about his mother's death." Quality goals are more difficult to write and should only used when they are meaningful.
- 3). Write concise short-term goals to best link the goal to the result desired, and to the specific issue for which the patient is receiving treatment. For example, in treating anxiety, the clinician may employ more than one treatment to relieve the patient's anxiety. One could be medication, while another could be a specific therapy. The goal writer needs to decide which short-term goal applies to each treatment, and write the goal clearly, using few words. If the goal becomes long and involved, it is difficult to read and measure. It may be unclear about how the goal will assist each treatment and the overall issue.
- 4). Write short-term goals for yourself by thinking through the issue, deciding what the goal is, and making it doable. For example, if you decide to quit smoking, you should pick the time-line for quitting, then break the time-line down to specific short-term goals. A bad goal would be to "reduce smoking by one month from today," as it is too vague about how. It is likely that your plan will have a greater chance of success if you find some measurable goals for the month. You could say, "I will reduce the number of daily cigarettes I smoke each day by five for the first week." For this type of goal, giving yourself a reward each time for achieving the goal may help.
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