People can come to therapy for a variety of reasons, but sometimes it can be tricky to identify what the problem or problems are and then create goals (and measurable objectives) to help deal with the reasons people come to therapy. Here are some questions to think about to help you identify some of the problems that brought you to therapy and broad goals related to them:
- Describe the problem(s) that led you to psychotherapy
- Imagine that overnight all of your problems are solved. When you wake up, how will you know that things are better? What specific changes do you notice?
- What are some broad goals you would like to work on during therapy sessions?
- For each of these broad goals, describe specifically how your life will be different once you’ve completed therapy.
We don’t have to be overly specific in defining the problem or even in creating out broad goals- but specificity can help for future steps. In contrast to these broad goals, we’ll want to craft behaviorally specific objectives or sub-goals that we’ll use in treatment. These will be related to the overall problems or broader goals but approach it from more measurable terms. For example, when we’re looking at things like “how will you know your life is better,” we’re talking about observable things that we can notice. We can then plan our treatment with interventions to address these specific goals. For example, one objective for depression might be “identify and replace negative self-talk that precipitates feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and depression.”
When it comes to creating more specific objectives/goals, it will help focus treatment and help us keep track of your progress over time. There is no right or wrong way to word your goals, but some people find that thinking about the “SMART” acronym when wording their goals is helpful. I’ve also added some things to think about for each. The SMART acronym means wording your goals in a way that is:
- Specific (define the problem in detail- what specifically is happening? Think who, what, where, when, why, how. What do you want to accomplish?)
- Measurable (something to think about: how will you know if you’re successful?)
- Achievable (try to dream big but also within the realm of what is possible; sometimes people say “assignable” here but in therapy it is on you)
- Relevant (is the objective related to your broad goals, for example?)
- Time bound (what kind of time frame are we working with and are the deadlines realistic? When will you do something?)
Thanks,
BetterHelp
Dr. Todd Finnerty has offered services on BetterHelp before and it is a good platform.
Talkspace
Talkspace is another popular platform. Dr. Finnerty does not personally have experience working on it. Talkspace has a discount code you can use if you are interested in trying it, however: Get $100 off your first month with code ‘1004U’ – Sign Up Today!You can also use this link: Try TalkSpace For $260/Monthly!
Online-Therapy.com
Dr. Finnerty also has not worked with Online-Therapy.com but you can get a 20% discount by using this link.Notice: some of the links on this page are affiliate links and Dr. Finnerty will earn an advertising fee if you use them
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