Treatment Planning

Treatment planning can be understood as a multistep process in which the clinician assesses a client with diagnostic and behavioral tools, creates hypotheses about the client’s condition, and selects appropriate treatments and progress assessments based on the collected information. In the first step of treatment planning, clinicians gather data about a client through appropriate assessments and intake interviews. Next, these data are interpreted through case conceptualization, a method of developing hypotheses that address the underlying causes and maintaining factors, or factors that cause the symptoms to be maintained or to persist over time, of the patient’s concerns. These hypotheses are taken into consideration when choosing corresponding treatments for the patient and determining assessments to monitor treatment outcomes. Assessments throughout treatment help guide clinicians toward any ...