Goal Planning Worksheet
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Are you looking for a goal planning worksheet? This free downloadable goal planning sheet is ideal for therapy clients focusing on their personal growth.
Setting goals is a key part of therapy that gives clients a clear path to follow and small steps to track their progress.
Research shows that setting goals helps clients make positive changes. Working on goals with a therapist can lower distress, increase motivation, and improve treatment results. Whatever the challenges your client is going through, offering them this goal planning sheet can make a big difference.
In this article, we explain the benefits and tips for goal setting, including how to use the goal planning worksheet. You can also save the therapy goal worksheet PDF to your electronic health record (EHR) or print copies for repeated use.
Importance of setting therapy goals
Clients may wonder why therapy goals and clear objectives are important.
Without setting clearly defined goals, therapy sessions may lack direction.
By implementing the goal planning worksheet into your therapy practice, you can ensure your clients are playing an active role in setting and tracking progress towards their goals.
Setting goals in therapy brings many benefits, such as:
- Creating a focus for each session. Your client can actively engage in the therapeutic process, rather than feeling stuck or unsure of how to proceed.
- Providing measurable milestones, and each one represents a step toward the larger goal. For example, if a client wants to reduce social anxiety, a milestone might be practicing relaxation techniques before attending a social event.
- Boosting motivation because clients see that their small actions lead to bigger changes. When clients feel like they’re making progress, they become more focused on their therapy journey.
- Helping both the client and therapist see results. You can check how well your client is doing, change plans if needed, and celebrate each success along the way.
Through the use of a goal planning sheet, clients may set various goals in therapy. Some examples include identifying and managing their emotions better, improving their communication in relationships, and breaking unhealthy habits (like negative self-talk or substance use).
Ways to set goals in therapy
There are various ways to approach setting goals in therapy, including short-term and long-term goal setting worksheets.
Here are some other ways to help clients identify and set goals in therapy using a goal planning worksheet:
Identify core values
Clients can start off using a goal planning worksheet by thinking about what is most important to them, like family, health, or personal growth. Knowing their core values helps clients set goals that feel meaningful and personal.
For example, if family is a core value, a client might set a goal to improve communication with family members by talking to them one to two times a week.
If clients aren’t sure what’s most important to them, ask them to reflect on times they felt genuinely happy or fulfilled. Another tip is to ask about what they admire in others—these are the qualities that usually reflect values they want to develop.
Make sure these goals are realistic and achievable
Clients need to set goals that match their current abilities and resources to prevent frustration or burnout, which could lead to disengagement from therapy.
For example, if a client with low energy sets a goal of exercising more, a realistic goal like a short daily walk is likely more sustainable than a demanding workout plan.
Writing down these goals in their goal planning worksheet will remind them to pace themselves. This is especially important during times when they feel motivated to take on too much at once.
Regularly review and adjust goals
Reflecting on goals with the therapist allows clients to see what they’ve accomplished so far, which can be motivating. If clients face new challenges or find certain goals difficult, they can modify their goals or add new strategies to address these areas.
This is a key part of therapy because it keeps clients’ treatment plans on track. For instance, if your client sets a goal to manage anxiety in social situations, you might want to check their progress after a few sessions.
Ask them, How are the strategies working for you?. If the client shares that they’ve had some success, but still feels anxious in certain situations, you might explore specific triggers or brainstorm new approaches.
Using the goal planning worksheet
The goal planning sheet included in this article will make it easier for clients to break down their goals into clear, actionable steps. They are encouraged to set a timeline that feels realistic and achievable.
An important part of the activity in the goal planning worksheet is for the client to think about what might get in the way of their progress and how they can deal with those challenges. The goal planning sheet also includes a section where clients can focus on what they can start doing today to move forward.
Finally, clients are invited to write down or draw a picture of their goal coming true in the goal planning worksheet. This helps them visualize their success in therapy and stay motivated as they work toward it.
Let them know that they can use the goal planning sheet not just during therapy sessions, but also as a tool for self-reflection between sessions. If your client enjoys visual aids, suggest they place their completed worksheet in an area where they can easily see it.
Sources
- National Library of Medicine. Geurtzen, N. Keijsers, G. Karremans, J. Tiemens, B. Hutschemaekers, G. (2020). Patients' perceived lack of goal clarity in psychological treatments: Scale development and negative correlates.
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