LMSW: Treatment Stages

In the beginning stage of therapy you are going to:

● Build rapport and identify the client’s reasons for seeking treatment.

● Gather history/complete a biopsychosocial assessment.

● Set goals and create a treatment plan

The middle stage of treatment is where most of the 'work' takes place:

● This is when you are actively engaging in interventions.

● This is the change oriented part of therapy.

the termination phase when the client has met agreed upon treatment goals

● You will focus on strategies for maintaining progress and can gradually decrease frequency of sessions as you move towards termination.

● Know that anxiety around the termination of services is normal. This alone is not a reason to add new treatment goals or indefinitely continue treatment. ● A good way to approach a client’s anxiety about treatment ending is to normalize this experience and then gradually decrease the frequency of therapy. This helps the client build a sense of competency that they can maintain change without therapy.

Early Stage Intervention & Treatment

Associated words

● Joining

● Assessing

● Prioritizing

● Partialization

● Goal setting

● Objectives

● Trust building

● Problem identification

● Treatment planning

● Reason for referral

Middle Stage Intervention & Treatment

Associated words

● Resistance

● Tasks

● Resolution

● Implementation

● Rehearsal

● Replacing

● Learning

● Teaching

● Change

● Better

Termination

Associated words

● Reviewing

● Planning

● Anticipatory guidance

● Regressing

● Successful

● Achievement

● Completion

● Maintenance

● Loss