Clinical and counseling psychologists
Clinical and counseling psychologists
Clinical and counseling psychologists utilize treatment plans to document a client’s progress toward short- and long-term goals. The content within psychological treatment plans varies depending on the clinical setting.
The clinician’s theoretical orientation, evidenced-based practices, and the client’s needs are taken into account when developing and implementing a treatment plan.
Typically, the client’s presenting problem(s), behaviorally defined symptom(s), goals, objectives, and interventions determined by the clinician are included within a treatment plan.
To understand the treatment planning process, assume the role of a clinical or counseling psychologist and develop a comprehensive treatment plan based on the same case study “You decide the case of Julia attached and her previous psychiatric diagnosis attached.
The Psychological Treatment Plan must include the headings and content outlined below(1)Behaviorally Defined Symptoms(A)Define the client’s presenting problem(s) and provide a diagnostic impression(B)Identify how the problem(s) is/are evidenced in the client’s behavior(C)List the client’s cognitive and behavioral symptoms(2)Long-Term Goal(A)Generate a long-term treatment goal that represents the desired outcome for the client(B)This goal should be broad and does not need to be measurable(3)Short-Term Objectives(A)Generate a minimum of three short-term objectives for attaining the long-term goal(B)Each objective should be stated in behaviorally measurable language. Subjective or vague objectives are not acceptable.
For example, it should be stated that the objective will be accomplished by a specific date or that a specific symptom will be reduced by a certain percentage(4)Interventions(A)Identify at least one intervention for achieving each of the short-term objectives(B)Compare a minimum of three evidence-based theoretical orientations from which appropriate interventions can be selected for the client
(C)Explain the connection between the theoretical orientation and corresponding intervention selected(D)Provide a rationale for the integration of multiple theoretical orientations within this treatment plan(E)Identify two to three treatment modalities (e.g., individual, couple, family, group, etc.) that would be appropriate for use with the client.
It is a best practice to include outside providers (e.g., psychiatrists, medical doctors, nutritionists, social workers, holistic practitioners, etc.) in the intervention planning process to build a support network that will assist the client in the achievement of treatment goals
(5)Evaluation(A)List the anticipated outcomes of each proposed treatment intervention based on scholarly literature(B)Be sure to take into account the individual’s strengths, weaknesses, external stressors, and cultural factors (e.g., gender, age, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc.) in the evaluation(C)Provide an assessment of the efficacy of evidence-based intervention options(6)Ethics(A)Analyze and describe potential ethical dilemmas that may arise while implementing this treatment plan(B)Cite specific ethical principles and any applicable law(s) for resolving the ethical dilemma(s)?
