Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:47:17.575Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Treatment goals and their attainment: a structured approach to assessment and evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2016

Jonas Ramnerö  and
Billy Jansson
Jonas Ramnerö*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Billy Jansson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden
*
*Author for correspondence: Dr J. Ramnerö, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, S106 91, Stockholm, Sweden (email: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Treatment goals are considered a vital part of therapeutic work, and their role is often emphasized in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). However, the attainment of goals is rarely accounted for in terms of treatment outcome. In this study, we set out to investigate a structured format for goal assessment and goal attainment in CBT delivered as routine care. We were especially interested in the sensitivity to change in perceived goal attainment. Patients completed a self-administered version of the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals (BIT-C) and rated their perceived attainment on a maximum of five prioritized goals before and after 12 weeks of treatment, along with measures on anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life. The results indicated that the prioritized goals only partially correspond to disorder-specific concerns, and that perceived proximity to treatment goals is clearly associated with improvements following treatment. The results are discussed in terms of the BIT-C being a promising tool for use in clinical settings in assessing treatment goals as well as in evaluating the attainment of these goals.

Keywords

Bern Inventory of Treatment Goalsgoal assessmentgoal attainmenttreatment goals
Type
Original Research
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 9 , 2016 , e2
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Recommended follow-up reading

Michalak, J, Grosse Holtforth, M (2006). Where do we go from here? The goal perspective in psychotherapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 13, 346–365.Google Scholar
Ramnerö, J, Törneke, N (2015). On having a goal – goals as representations or behavior. Psychological Record 65, 89–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shafran, R, Brosan, L, Cooper, P (2013). The Complete CBT Guide for Anxiety. London, England: Robinson. Google Scholar

References

Berking, M, Grosse Holtforth, M, Jacobi, C, Kröner-Herwig, B (2005). Empirically based guidelines for goal-finding procedures in psychotherapy: are some goals easier to attain than others? Psychotherapy Research 15, 316–324.Google Scholar
Brunstein, JC (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: a longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65, 1061–1070.Google Scholar
Burstrom, K, Johannesson, M, Diderichsen, F (2001). Swedish population health-related quality of life results using the EQ-5D. Quality of Life Research 10, 621–635.Google Scholar
Deci, EL, Ryan, RM (2000). The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry 11, 227–268.Google Scholar
Eisenthal, S, Koopman, C, Lazare, A (1983). Process analysis of two dimensions of the negotiated approach in relation to satisfaction in the initial interview. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 171, 49–54.Google Scholar
Emmons, RA (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62, 292–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
EuroQol Group (1990). EuroQol – a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy 16, 199–208.Google Scholar
Goldstein, JM, Cohen, P, Lewis, SA, Struening, EL (1988). Community treatment environments: patient vs. staff evaluations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 176, 227–233.Google Scholar
Grosse Holtforth, M, Castonguay, LG (2005). Relationship and techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy: a motivational approach. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training 42, 443–455.Google Scholar
Grosse Holtforth, M, Grawe, K (2002). Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals: Part 1. Development and first application of a taxonomy of treatment goal themes. Psychotherapy Research 12, 79–99.Google Scholar
Grosse Holtforth, M, Reubi, I, Ruckstuhl, L, Berking, M, Grawe, K (2004). The value of treatment-goal themes for treatment planning and outcome evaluation of psychiatric inpatients. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 50, 80–91.Google Scholar
Hasler, G, Moergeli, H, Bachmann, R, Lambreva, E, Buddeberg, C, Schnyder, U (2004a). Patient satisfaction with outpatient psychiatric treatment: the role of diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, and perceived therapeutic change. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 49, 315–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hasler, G, Moergeli, H, Schnyder, U (2004b). Outcome of psychiatric treatment: what is relevant for our patients? Comprehensive Psychiatry 45, 199–205.Google Scholar
Hoyt, MF (1980). Therapist and patient actions in ‘good’ psychotherapy sessions. Archives of General Psychiatry 37, 159–161.Google Scholar
Jansson, B, Tham, K, Ramnerö, J (2015). A structured approach to goal formulation in psychotherapy: differences between patients and controls. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy 15, 181–190.Google Scholar
Kazdin, AE (1999). The meanings and measurement of clinical significance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67, 332–339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lisspers, J, Nygren, A, Söderman, E (1997). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD): some psychometric data for a Swedish sample. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 96, 281–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Locke, EA, Latham, GP (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: a 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist 57, 705–717.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michalak, J, Heidenreich, T, Hoyer, J (2004). Goal conflicts: concepts, findings, and consequences for psychotherapy. In: Handbook of Motivational Counselling (ed. Cox, W. M. & Klinger, E.), pp. 83–98. Chichester, England: Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Ramnerö, J, Jansson, B (2015). The stability of treatment goals, as assessed by a Swedish version of the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals. Nordic Psychology. Published online: 1 June 2015. doi:10.1080/19012276.2015.1045544.Google Scholar
Shafran, R, Brosan, L, Cooper, P (2013). The Complete CBT Guide for Anxiety. London, England: Robinson.Google Scholar
Sheldon, KM, Elliot, AJ (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: the self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, 482–497.Google Scholar
Tryon, GS, Winograd, G (2002). Goal consensus and collaboration. In Psychotherapy Relationships that Work: Therapist Contributions and Responsiveness to Patients (ed. Norcross, J. C.), pp. 109–125. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tryon, GS, Winograd, G (2011). Goal consensus and collaboration. Psychotherapy 48, 50–57.Google Scholar
Zigmond, AS, Snaith, RP (1983). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 67, 361–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.