Content Requirements

Having identified they key issues that need to be address (Diagnosis), we now move to the Application Stage. In this stage we connect the identified needs with specific action. It should be noted that not all treatment plans should be planned in isolation, like in the development of this case. Commonly, the treatment plan is built through a collaborative process, which allows the client to take a level of ownership in the process.

The key to developing an effective treatment plan is by ensuring that your etiology is on track. If you have truly identified the root problem and therefore can develop a treatment plan that addresses that root problem, you are more likely to address the need of a client. If not, the treatment plan may merely provide some relief, but not truly provide healing or restoration to the client. Think of it like gardening. Weeds will always continue to grow until the root has been dealt with. Pulling weeds may make the garden look nice for a time, but if the root is still there, the weed will return.

According to the Rubric, your Treatment Plan needs to be relevant to the symptoms, the desired outcomes, and include short and long-term goals (action steps). Be careful to not just copy and paste a common or generic treatment plan. You will want to make sure that the plan you create would be specific to the person in the case. You can do this by sighting specific elements of the case.

You will also need to be careful to not be too general. Stating something like, “The client needs to get involved with a church family”, does not provide a path toward that end. Part of creating short and long-term goals, is about creating the path (steps) that must be taken. So, to reach an end like “getting involved with a church family, may include the following:

As part of your treatment plan, you will also need to provide a prognosis. For this analysis, a prognosis is a description of what you believe will happen in response to the treatment. At face value, this may seem assumed in the treatment plan, but prognoses are not always so clear. An example might be an individual wrestling alcoholism. A treatment plan that would result in the cessation of excessive drinking can lead to a prognosis that includes a lot more than just than the positive outcome of no more excessive drinking. As a counselor, you need to consider how the cessation of that behavior may affect the individual. Think about the changes in social settings, adjustments in social relationships, the absence of a sure coping method, the influx of extra cash, as well as a myriad of other issues that will result. Thus the prognosis needs to include more than just the direct outcome sought after, but a reasonable evaluation of how the modifications will affect the life of the individual, including adjustments that the individual will need to make in order to maintain balance.