GOAL-SETTING IN SOCIAL WORK INTERVENTIONS: THEORY AND TECHNIQUES

Abstract

A goal-setting technique could be considered as one of the modern tools of client-centered social work. Such techniques are designed to motivate and direct the client to achieve a specific goal and result. The paper systematizes academic approaches to understanding the theory of goal setting, defines the specifics of its practical use in social work, and presents specific goal setting techniques that have been tested as part of structured interventions for clients who are in difficult life circumstances and are motivated to change them.The elaboration of social work interventions must be based on the understanding that goals, by their very nature, are more attainable and accessible than wishes, intentions or dreams. Their formulation by social work clients who are in difficult life circumstances and may have a reduced social perspective cannot be considered a simple process, since it requires the use of specific techniques such as setting goals and tasks («Wheel of life balance», various visualizations and discussions; «Map achievement of goals», «Suitcase of goals»), as well as the implementation of steps to achieve them (diaries, weekly goal achievement maps, skill trackers, coaching, etc.).As evidenced by the literature review, the authors’ own experience, as well as the results of other applied studies, the goal-setting theory contains ideas and concepts that are consistent with the basic principles of professional social work. It suggests that the client and the social worker work together to find differences in the client's current state of life and the outcome he or she is striving for. The paper reveals that goal setting stimulates activity, initiative and motivation of clients, encourages choice and forms a sense of responsibility for this choice, and thus strengthens the client-centeredness of social work.