Name of the Strategy or Intervention
Goal setting in couple and family therapy
Synonym List
Introduction
Goal setting occurs in the beginning phase of couple and family therapy, during which the therapist works to identify the most salient aspects of clients’ presenting problems, prior attempts to change, barriers to success, and strengths to be used during the treatment process. The purpose of goal setting in couple and family therapy is to develop consensus with each family member regarding the definition of the presenting problem and their desires for how the problem will be solved, in order to develop a roadmap for the ensuing process of therapy. As Haley (1978) suggested, “if therapy is to end properly, it must begin properly – by negotiating a solvable problem and discovering the social situation that makes the problem necessary” (p. 8).
Theoretical Framework
Common Goals Across Theoretical Approaches
Goal setting in couple and family therapy...
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References
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Woods, S.B. (2017). Goal Setting in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_562-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_562-1
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