Treatment Planning in Psychotherapy

Paper Summary:

This paper outlines the critical elements of treatment planning in psychotherapy. It also provides a hypothetical case and proposes a treatment plan for the incumbent. Issues addressed include the importance of treatment planning and vital aspects of a quality treatment plan. The author concludes that ultimately a good treatment plan can be evaluated by examining the patient's response to treatment goals and outcomes.

Outline:
Treatment Planning Defined
Relevance of Treatment Planning in Psychotherapy
Treatment Plan Overview
Stages of Treatment Planning
Characteristics of a Good Treatment Plan
Hypothetical Treatment Case - Depression
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Bray, Falvey & Hebert (2005) define treatment planning, as a "frequent and universal judgment task" often required of mental health practitioners interested in promoting positive patient outcomes. During the treatment planning and conceptualization process, clinicians work to help problem solve and predict outcomes for patients using various clinical judgment strategies (Bray et al. 2005). This process while complex allows favorable outcomes for a majority of patients and improves clinical performance thus is vital to the success and well being not only of patients but also of the caregivers working with them (Bray, et al. 2005). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed. Washington, DC: APA.
• Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J. & Shaw, B.F. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
• Berman, P.S. (1997). Case conceptualization and treatment planning: Exercises for integrating theory with clinical practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Bray, T.E., Falvey, J.E. & Hebert, D.J. (2005). "Case conceptualization and treatment planning: Investigation of problem solving and clinical judgment." Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 27(4): 348.
• Erbaugh, S.E. "Psychotherapy for depression." Healthy Place Depression Community. 13, April 2006: http://www.healthyplace.com/communities/Depression/treatment/therapy/psych_vs_meds.asp

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