Treatment Plan
Overview of Process
“The treatment plan is the road map that a patient will follow on his or her journey through treatment….Treatment planning begins as soon as the initial assessments are completed…[and] is a never-ending stream of therapeutic plans and interventions, (Perkinson, et al, 2009, p. 75).” Each agency requires will require atreatment plan for clients and have a specified deadline for completion. It is eventually included as a part of the client’s permanent record and becomes a map for the services provided.
How to Define Problems.
Ingram (2012) defines clinical case formulation as “a conceptual scheme that organizes, explains, or makes sense of large amounts of data and influences the treatment decisions, (p. 3).” The first step to defining the problem is gathering data from the client, significant others, clinical records, and one’s own clinical judgment. This information can allow us to develop a problem list, which we can utilzie to develop diagnoses that can indicate potential treatment targets (Ingram. 2012).
BASIC SID….
Ingram (2012) describes the problem identification process as involving two key tasks: defining “the presenting problem…[and developing a] comprehensive problem list” (p43). The BASIC SID comprehensive problem framework involves assessing the following areas: “behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognitive, spiritual, interpersonal, [and medical]” (p43). Developed by Arnold Lazarus in the 1980’s, this assessment method allows a holistic assessment of clients, without the influence of theoretical conceptualization in the process (Ingram, 2012).
Standards for Defining Problems
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Problems are define solvable goals for treatment.
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Problem titles define to the client’s real-world problems & current functioning.
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Problems are written clearly and tailored to the client’s specific situation.
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Problems do not pertain to theoretical concepts & clinical hypothesis.
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Problem’s reflect the client’s value system & not therapist’s.
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The problem list is complete & comprehensive
How to Define goals
Every problem listed requires a treatment goal to resolve the issue. Success of therapy is measured in terms of evidence of progress toward the goal. They also provide a guideline for treatment planning and criteria for when to terminate therapy. There are four standards for defining goals:
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There should be a logical connection between the outcome goal and the problem title.
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The goals should be theoretically neutral.
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The goals should be realistic, measurable, and attainable.
Standards for Writing a Treatment Plan
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Focused on resolving problems and achieving goals.
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The plan is logically related to the clinical hypotheses & data gathered.
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The plan pertains to knowledge of clinical research.
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It is strategically clear problem -> evidence -> goal -> objective -> intervention.
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The plan pertains to the client’s specific situation
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The plan is appropriate given situational constraints, (insurance, treatment setting, etc).
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The plan addresses legal & ethical issues.
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The plan utilizes referrals and community resources.
Essential Elements of a Treatment Plan
The Problem List
The problem list reflects problems that need to be addressed during the treatment process. “The problems must be specific, [and provide] a brief clinical statement of a condition of the patient that needs treatment, (Perkinson, 2009, p. 76).” Since the problems are abstract concepts by themselves, treatment plans list evidence of signs and symptoms for every problem listed.
Developing Goals
“Once you have generated a problem list, you need to ask yourself what the patient needs to do to restore normal functioning, (Perkinson, 2009, p. 77).”
Difference between goals and objectives
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GOALS define what you hope to achieve in therapy with the client.
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OBJECTIVE: Define what the client will do to achieve this outcome
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GOAL = TREATMENT
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OBJECTIVES = STRATEGY
How to write them…
“A goal is a brief clinical statement of the condition you expect to change in the client…You must state state what you intend to accomplish in general terms, and then specify the condition of the patient that will result from treatment. All goals will label a set of behaviors that you want to elicity in the patient, Goals should be more than the elimination of pathology. They should be directed toward learning…(Perkinson, 2009, p. 77).”
Treatment Objectives
After listing problems and goals, you list objectives. Objectives are list specific skills that the patient will exercise in order to achieve a goal. “It is a concrete behavior that you can see, hear, smeel, taste or feel…[and] must be stated clearly so that anyone would know when he or she saw it.
Defining Interventions
Interventions follow objectives. “Interventions are what you do to help the patient complete the objective…they are also measurable and objectives…There should be at least one intervention for every objective. The person responsible for the intervention should be listed.
Avoiding Errors
For successful case formulation to occur, it is essential that the resulting treatment plan matches the client’s specific needs (Ingram, 2012). Our textbook also lists three common errors associated with matching a treatment plan with the client’s specific needs. The first of these errors involves developing a case formulation without adequate data to support underlying hypotheses (Ingram, 2012). In order to avoid this error, I believe it will help to complete the “three-column worksheet” (Ingram, 2012, p88), described in our text. Another useful preventative for this mistake is to make sure your data is complete. The second error mentioned in our textbook involves the presence of data that contradicts a case hypothesis (Ingram, 2012). As Ingram, (2012), mentions it is essential that a therapist enter the data-gathering process without a predefined orientation (p89). I would surmise, that doing so would color a therapist’s understanding of the client’s situation. The final case formulation error mentioned in our textbook involves failing to address a key issue in the client’s case. If a wealth of data exists in support of a specific case hypothesis, it would be a disservice on the part of our client’s to overlook this issue. One step therapists can take to prevent this might involve carefully reviewing information from the database after the initial interview process. A second step a therapist can take, might involve a consultation with a co-worker or supervisor.
Sample Treatment Plan
Attached is a copy of a treatment plan I created for a class. It doesn’t refer to an actual client and is purely a hypothetical and acdemic exercise. Keep in mind, it is my first attempt… 🙂
