Perceptions of Treatment Plan Goals of People in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Abstract

Collaborative treatment planning is a process by which mental healthcare providers and consumers of services work together to set goals for treatment, choose between alternative services, and establish a plan (c.f.). Several groups have attempted to increase the collaborative nature of treatment planning. Collaborative treatment planning seeks to empower consumers, increase investment in treatment, and Benhances his or her motivation, investment, self-esteem, and sense of achievement, leading to greater independence and self-mastery.^ A key outcome in collaborative treatment planning is the production of high-quality treatment goals. Substantial research has supported the importance of goal setting in increasing goal-related efforts and performance, and goal setting holds several potential benefits for rehabilitation efforts, such as improving consumer outcomes, supporting consumer autonomy, and meeting contractual obligations, and may serve as a meaningful outcome in-and-of itself. To this end, Clarke, Oades, Crowe, Caputi, and Deane found that the goal attainment mediated the relationship between symptom distress and self-rated recovery, thus providing an empirical link between goals and consumer recovery. Despite its promise, Levack and colleagues note that goal setting interventions have had inconsistent outcomes. They conclude that these results may, at least in part, be due to variability in the goal setting process, which can impact the quality and effectiveness of goals. Treatment plans are critical to collaborative coordination of mental health services, and the goals can represent an important indicator of shared decision-making within psychiatric rehabilitation. Moreover, treatment plans have intrinsic value as a means by which the treatment team communicates. Despite their importance, extant research indicates treatment plans are often neglected in practice. Research from the intellectual disability literature indicates that treatment plans are infrequently completed,