The One Question You Can Ask To Write Better Goals in Play Therapy

With so much going on in your therapy practice (and life) I wanted to give you one quick tip on how to help with the stress and struggle with documenting goals in play therapy! 
 
Now, did you know that setting goals is so much more valuable than the plan you have on file in case you get audited by the insurance company or someone requests records?  Check out this post HERE about why setting goals is like GOLD for the rest of your therapy relationship! ​

So back to the question!  This question I ask in every goal setting session that helps me get clarity.  
 
First let’s consider what the following goal could mean: Improve anxiety and rumination. 
 
Does this mean that the panic attacks every time they see a red jeep will be nonexistent?  A child can separate to go to dance class and get her jazz on without clinging to her mother? A teen can focus on their Algebra test without blanking out and getting an F even though they studied their heart out? 
 
So, although the goal “improve anxiety and rumination” can give us some general information about what we might want to see from a client, it actually tells us very little about what this looks like in this child’s very real life. 
 
So….what’s the question?
 
“What would your life be like if you didn’t need the support of therapy anymore”?
 
And after you ask this question?  A wealth of information comes out.  The specific, the nitty gritty, the nuances of everyday life.  Sometimes things come up that never were mentioned in your hour long intake session or between the pages of your intake paperwork.
 
And this clarity? Well it helps you create excellent goals! 
 
If you are looking for more support in goal setting check out this post HERE with the four topics I cover in all my goal setting sessions. 
 
If you are struggling with play therapy documentation and progress note support this is just the tip of the iceberg for what I teach in The 5 Minute Note Course.  This course gives you support on all things progress notes.  Learn to shrink your note writing process to write effortless and effective notes within your therapy day! 
 
This course includes all the details, guides, and cheat sheets to help you know what to write and how to write it. AND includes templates and cheat sheets specifically for progress notes for play therapy! ​

---

BLOG | DOWNLOADS + FREE RESOURCES | COURSES ​

---

Loading...