This post is in partnership with our friends at Talkspace, an online therapy provider connecting users with licensed therapists since 2012. Learn more about our methodology and business model here.
When I logged into my first online therapy session, I only had the intention of “feeling better.” I didn’t have the vocabulary for what I was experiencing—all I knew was that I was crying in my bathroom after a long weekend for no clear reason. I knew I needed a change.
When my therapist sent along a goals worksheet before our first therapy session, I was surprised. I had always imagined therapy to be a “show up, cry to a professional, become happy” kind of deal. Instead, I was getting homework. Wasn’t I paying someone else to do that for me? I didn’t understand what therapy goals were, or how important they’d become to me.
The Importance of Setting Short Term Goals in Counseling Psychology
Having clear, defined short term goals is an essential part of the counseling process As a psychologist, being able to guide your clients towards achievable short term goals can have a tremendous impact on their overall mental health and wellbeing. In this article, we will explore what short term goals are, why they matter, and how psychologists can utilize them effectively.
What Are Short Term Goals?
Short term goals refer to goals that can be accomplished within a relatively short time frame, usually within 3-6 months They serve as stepping stones towards longer term objectives. For example, if someone’s long term goal is to run a marathon, their short term goal might be to run 5km without stopping within the next 3 months
Some common short term goals in counseling include:
- Reducing symptoms of depression/anxiety within 2 months
- Improving sleep habits within 1 month
- Making new friends within 3 months
- Learning a new skill (like cooking or playing an instrument) within 6 months
- Volunteering once a week within 2 months
The key is that short term goals need to have a defined timeline and be something that can realistically be achieved within that timeframe. They act as smaller milestones along the path towards bigger goals.
Why Are Short Term Goals Important?
There are several reasons why utilizing short term goals is so valuable in counseling:
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Provides a sense of structure: Having defined short term goals gives the counseling process more structure and direction. Rather than just vaguely wanting to “feel happier”, the client has identified specific targets that indicate progress.
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Enhances motivation: Short term goals feel more achievable than big, abstract goals. This gives the client motivation and hope that they can actually accomplish them. Small wins build momentum.
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Allows monitoring of progress: With short term goals, it’s easier for both the client and psychologist to monitor progress. Either the goal is achieved or not within the defined timeline. This helps identify what’s working versus what may need to change.
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Avoids overwhelm: Making huge changes all at once is unlikely to be successful. Short term goals break down progress into bite-sized chunks that feel less overwhelming.
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Builds self-efficacy: Achieving short term goals helps boost clients’ confidence in their abilities over time. They start to believe they can set and accomplish goals.
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Enhances the counseling relationship: Collaborating on short term goals brings the psychologist and client together as a team. The client feels understood and supported.
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Provides a sense of accomplishment: Reaching a short term goal creates a huge sense of achievement and pride, enhancing self-esteem and resilience.
How Psychologists Can Utilize Short Term Goals Effectively
Here are some tips for psychologists on effectively utilizing short term goals with clients:
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Collaborate on identifying goals rather than dictating them. The client will have greater buy-in when they feel involved. Ask “What would you like to achieve in the next 3 months?”
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Make sure the goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Vague or overly ambitious goals often fail.
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Have clients break bigger goals down into smaller short term goals. Identify the next step.
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Discuss potential obstacles and strategies to overcome them. Proactively identifying challenges helps prepare clients.
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Write the goals down! This crystallizes them and enhances accountability versus just discussing.
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Schedule regular check-ins on goal progress. This could be weekly, monthly, or at key milestones. Review what’s working and what may need adjustment.
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Offer support and encouragement for any progress made, even if the goal hasn’t fully been achieved yet. Progress is still important!
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Use motivational interviewing techniques to resolve ambivalence and enhance commitment to the goals.
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Re-evaluate the goals regularly. Adjust timeframes or modify goals as needed based on a client’s evolving situation.
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Have clients visualize achieving the goal. Guiding mental imagery can help actualize success.
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Incorporate behavioral techniques like monitoring sheets or rewards to motivate goal progress.
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Model goal setting in your own life. Seeing you strive towards self-improvement can inspire clients.
By incorporating these strategies, psychologists can set their clients up for successful achievement of short term goals. This propels the counseling process forward. Even small gains create positive momentum.
Examples of Effective Short Term Goals
Here are some examples of effective short term goals psychologists may collaborate on with clients:
- Client wants to improve social connections to combat loneliness:
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Short term goal: Join a local book club and attend the weekly meetings for 2 months
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Long term goal: Establish a social network of 4 close friends over the next 18 months
- Client wants to lose 30 pounds for health reasons:
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Short term goal: Lose 5 pounds in the next 6 weeks through calorie counting and brisk walks 3x/week
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Long term goal: Lose 30 pounds over the next year through diet and exercise
- Client wants to reduce anxiety symptoms:
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Short term goal: Practice deep breathing exercises for 10 minutes daily over the next 4 weeks
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Long term goal: Learn and utilize 5 different anxiety reduction techniques for when feeling stressed
- Client wants to speak up more at work:
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Short term goal: Make one work-related suggestion during a team meeting each week for the next 2 months
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Long term goal: Feel confident voicing opinions and contributing to discussions at work over the next year
- Client wants to pick up guitar playing again:
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Short term goal: Practice guitar for 30 minutes at least 3 days per week for the next 3 months
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Long term goal: Learn 5 new songs and perform at an open mic night within 18 months
These examples demonstrate that effective short term goals are specific, measurable, time-bound, and lead towards bigger objectives. They provide motivation and a sense of progress for clients.
Potential Pitfalls of Short Term Goals
While extraordinarily useful, there are some potential downsides of relying on short term goals that psychologists should remain aware of:
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Clients may fixate on achieving the short term goals at the expense of the bigger picture. The goals should align with longer term needs.
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There is a risk of setting too many short term goals, leaving the client overwhelmed. Narrow the focus to 1-3 key goals.
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The goals may be too vague or ambiguous, making it unclear whether they have been achieved.
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Short term goals may be created hastily without resolving the client’s underlying ambivalence to change. Motivational interviewing helps here.
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The client may become discouraged if they fall short of a goal. The psychologist must help reframe this positively as a learning experience.
With care taken to avoid these pitfalls, short term goals remain a powerful catalyst for change in counseling. They instill hope and momentum as clients take the first steps on their self-improvement journeys. Helping clients identify and actively work towards short term goals provides a foundation for meaningful transformation.
What are therapy goals?
News flash: Your therapist can’t do the work for you, they can only support you along the way. Therapy goals are the intentions we share with our therapist, who helps us create frameworks for measuring our progress and achieving them. (Plus, hello, accountability!)
Some types of goals for therapy might include:
- Developing coping skills for anxiety or overwhelming emotions
- Reducing the intensity of symptoms related to anxiety and depression
- Increasing self-esteem and reducing negative self-talk
- Improving sleep quality and prioritizing restfulness
- Learning new communication strategies for complex friendships, romantic relationships, or family dynamics
- Processing thoughts and feelings about past trauma
- Exploring parenting questions and challenges
- Navigating a new or existing disability
- Inviting more mindfulness and presence into everyday life
- Changing harmful or unhelpful behaviors
- Sharpening your decision-making and boundary-setting skills
- Discovering more about who you are, what you want, and where your values lie
But this list isn’t exhaustive! We all have our own challenges that would benefit from a professional’s support, and it’s more than okay if yours aren’t on this list. It’s also okay if you’ve pinpointed multiple goals and are feeling flustered about which one to work on first.
“Talking with your therapist about being overwhelmed and how to sort out where to start is often a great beginning as you get to know one another,” says Talkspace therapist Jill Daino, LCSW-R. “The key to getting started is being straightforward, this is your safe space for your thoughts and feelings.”
Embracing therapy as a safe place is precisely why goals, or intentions, are so important. This is your space, it’s your investment—it’s not a time to meet anyone else’s expectations but your own. I like to think of it this way: Our therapists are the personal trainers who offer meaningful feedback and support while we exercise our goal-setting muscles. If we can practice our goal setting in therapy, we may even be better equipped to set goals outside of it, too.
How do you set goals in therapy?
So say you’ve got a few ideas from the list above, or have some ideas of your own on what you want to focus on in therapy. How do you actually set them?
Not every therapist will use the word “goals,” but it’s common in your first session to let the therapist know what brings you to therapy and which outcomes are important to you. Erin Miller, a psychotherapist, asks first time clients: “If therapy ‘worked’ for you, what would that look like?” This helps focus on the optimal outcome of therapy—which is to journey a little closer to our best selves.
“Goal setting can look different depending on a therapist’s orientation,” Daino reminds us, since there are so many different types of therapy available. However, if you aren’t feeling like your needs are being heard or properly acknowledged, you may need to find a different therapist. Daino also explains, “meeting with a therapist for a first appointment is like going on a blind date—not all of them are going to be a good match and that is ok.”
If you don’t feel like you are setting goals, intentions, or feel like your outcomes are mutually understood, it’s worth exploring how to change the therapist you’re working with. (I’ve found it’s way easier to change therapists online than in person, which is a balm to my anxious mind).
The second, and equally important, half to goal setting is knowing how to measure them as you progress. “When I work with clients, I like to have them articulate their goals, and we put them in writing together,” says Dr. Ruth L. Varkovitzky, a board-certified clinical psychologist. “We also try to identify how we would know if things were getting better, and how we want to measure progress.” That means you’re not just in charge of setting the goals but also having conversations about what progress and “success” looks like for you.
This progress can be as straightforward as symptom improvement (which can be easier to measure in physical scenarios like fatigue, panic attacks, or sleep patterns). But not all emotional and mental progress is easy to measure, which is why you should create a framework together with your provider. Daino and the professionals at Talkspace encourage us to discuss with our therapists what it means for us to feel more fulfilled, cope with stress effectively, or find a better balance at work or with our partners.
For me, it’s usually—am I showering, eating, and staying hydrated? Am I proactively calling friends and family, and am I easefully doing the things I love to do? I can also always tell I’m on the mend from a difficult time by the state of my apartment; the cleaner it is, the clearer my mind and vice versa.
How to Prepare for Your First Therapy Session
How can short-term goals help you achieve a long-term goal?
The positive feeling can motivate you to work toward another short-term goal, which can bring you closer to realizing a long-term goal. For instance, if you manage to increase your caseload, then you may be ready to open your own counseling practice. Short-term goals can make long-term goals feel more attainable.
Why should counseling psychologists create short-term aspirations?
As a counseling psychologist, it’s important to visualize what you want for the next phase of your career. Establishing a short-term goal can motivate you to work toward a more successful future. Here are reasons that illustrate the significance of creating short-term aspirations for your professional journey:
What are goals in therapy?
Goals in therapy can also help you feel more empowered as you achieve incremental and overall goals. Every therapy journey is different — that’s why your individual goals may be different from someone else’s. At SonderMind, therapists use clinical questionnaires (CQs) to measure your progress toward reaching your goals in therapy.
Do Your Goals change over the course of therapy?
In fact, your goals are likely to change over the course of therapy, as therapy is a process of gaining self-knowledge. However, having only vague goals can make therapy frustrating, especially if you’re not planning on being in therapy for a long time. Think of it as “both/and,” not “either/or.”
