Treatment Plan
General Instructions
Most of you will have never worked in a therapy session with a client or clients. There is no way to prepare you for that experience unless you begin to think as if you were in that situation. Theories are important to know, but how you will implement the constructs of the theories is so much more crucial. Using the two scenarios below, complete a treatment plan for each one. When you are finished, you should have two completed treatment plans. There are no exact answers because each treatment plan could be approached from dozens of directions. Your outline should be consistent from top to bottom as you think about each scenario. For example, if you state in the beginning of the treatment plan that the client(s)’ presenting issue is depression, then, at the bottom of the outline you should not state that you will be seeing that person once a month. For 99% of the population being treated for depression, once a month would be of very little help.
Keep in mind that, even though there might be three or four blanks for you to provide information, you might need less or more blanks to fill in the information that you think is necessary.
You have been provided with a sample Treatment Plan, but you may not use information from that plan in either of the scenarios below.
Note: If specific information is not provided in the scenarios below, you can devise the information if it stays consistent with the other facts. For example, in Scenario #1, you can presume that the client has a Catholic background or a Protestant background; you can presume ethnicity if you deem it relevant.
Scenario for Treatment Plan #1
A family comes to your practice for help. Here is the following information that is collected during their intake.
Mom and Dad have been married for twenty years. They have a middle-class income. Mom works twenty hours per week as a para-legal. Dad is a college professor at the local four-year institution. They have three children. The oldest is a 16-year-old girl. She is a straight A student, and she is well liked at her school and the family’s church. She does not play any sports. Her hobbies are reading, art, and theatre club at the school. She just received her driver’s license about three months ago. It is rare that she is ever in trouble and in need of discipline for breaking family or school rules.
The second child is 12-year-old male. This young man seems to find trouble any where he goes during the day. He struggles in school, but the teachers state he is fully capable of completing the work; he just refuses to do the work. He is defiant at school and at home. He spends most of his time defying authority figures who are left in charge of him each day. He can go for days without getting in trouble and then he could go a week getting in trouble every day. Even when he is presented with a “video” of his infraction, he will sit and deny it. He never claims that anything is his fault. He has been known to get into fights at school and even with his older sister. The older sister never fights back. She tries to get away from him rather than engage. He will intentionally break a rule at home and blame it on his older sister or younger brother. Spanking him only makes him madder and more out of control. Time-out ruins everyone’s night because he sits in time-out and verbally says things to bother the rest of the household. The only person he has never shown the behavior is his grandmother on his mother’s side.
The third child is a 10- year-old boy. The boy is identical to the older sibling. He makes good grades and he is well liked by others. He does show some of the “baby of the family” traits. For example, when his older brother picks on him, he immediately cries and screams for his mother.
I. Presenting Symptoms/Issues (i.e., Anxiety, Depression, etc.) (Spaces are provided for three symptoms or issues, but you may have less or add more, if needed.)
A.
B.
C.
II. Information that Supports Item I. (How did you arrive at the above conclusions? Again, you may have less or more information here.)
A.
B.
C.
D.
III. Treatment Theoretical Approach(es): Identify and discuss the major theory(ies) that
you, as the counselor, would use to work with the individual/family and give a rationale
for choosing it/them (Adlerian, Gestalt, Existential, Family, etc.). The approach can be
eclectic, a combination of theoretical approaches.
IV. Treatment Modalities (i.e., Specify Group, Family, Couple, Individual—make sure that
your choice of treatment modalities correlates with what you going to do with the
individuals in the scenario.)
A.
B.
C.
V. Reasons for the Chosen Modalities in Item IV
A.
B.
C.
VI. Frequency of Sessions for Each Modality in Item IV
A.
B.
C.
VII. Measurable Treatment Goals (Be sure to state these using action verbs. For example,
“The client(s) will be able to identify, discuss, describe, etc.”)
A.
B.
C.
D.
VIII. Techniques from Theoretical Approaches: Identify and discuss the techniques from the theoretical approach(es) (e.g., reframing, empty chair, etc.) to be used with the situation in the scenario. These should be directly related to Item III.
IX. Frequency for Evaluating Each Goal
A.
B.
C.
D.
X. How will Progress be Defined? [What will you be looking for regarding progress with
your client(s)?]
A.
B.
C.
D.
Scenario for Case Study #2
A couple enter for their intake regarding pre-marital counseling. They have been dating for approximately fifteen months. They are wanting to get married; however, they are concerned with several issues. The woman has been married twice before. She has one child with each of her past ex-husbands. She has an eight-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. The man has been married once before. He has one child, a boy, age 13.
Both woman’s ex-husbands play a large role in the children’s lives. However, the man’s ex-wife has nothing to do with her son. The woman receives a large alimony check that she would lose if she re-marries. This is a concern since she does not work outside the home. The man has a good job, but they would be living on a tight budget without her alimony check each month. They have discussed living together, but, if it is proven that they are cohabitating, she would still lose the alimony. The children have not met each other at this point. The woman’s ex-husbands are not aware that she has been in a serious relationship.
The 13-year-old boy has been in trouble with the juvenile court system for inappropriately touching girls at school. The last episode was six months ago. He has been in counseling for over one year. The man has not told the woman of his son’s issues.
Again, they have come in for pre-marital counseling and how they should tell the children the news if they decide to marry.
I. Presenting Symptoms/Issues (i.e., Anxiety, Depression, etc.) (Spaces are provided for three symptoms or issues, but you may have less or add more, if needed.)
A.
B.
C.
II. Information that Supports Item I. (How did you arrive at the above conclusions? Again, you may have less or more information here.)
A.
B.
C.
D.
III. Treatment Theoretical Approach(es): Identify and discuss the major theory(ies) that
you, as the counselor, would use to work with the individual/family and give a rationale
for choosing it/them (Adlerian, Gestalt, Existential, Family, etc.). The approach can be
eclectic, a combination of theoretical approaches.
IV. Treatment Modalities (i.e., Specify Group, Family, Couple, Individual—make sure that
your choice of treatment modalities correlates with what you going to do with the
individuals in the scenario.)
A.
B.
C.
V. Reasons for the Chosen Modalities in Item IV
A.
B.
C.
VI. Frequency of Sessions for Each Modality in Item IV
A.
B.
C.
VII. Measurable Treatment Goals (Be sure to state these using action verbs. For example,
“The client(s) will be able to identify, discuss, describe, etc.”)
A.
B.
C.
D.
VIII. Techniques from Theoretical Approaches: Identify and discuss the techniques from the theoretical approach(es) to be used with the situation in the scenario. These should be directly related to Item III.
IX. Frequency for Evaluating Each Goal (Will you evaluate after each session? …after
two sessions? etc.)
A.
B.
C.
D.
X. How will Progress be Defined? [What will you be looking for regarding progress with
your client(s)?]
A.
B.
C.
D.
