Week 16
* Egan Workbook Chapters 10 & 11
* Egan Textbook Chapters 10 & 11
Chapter 10 STAGE II: HELP CLIENTS DESIGN AND SET PROBLEM-MANAGING
GOALS Problems can make clients feel hemmed in and closed off. To a greater or lesser extent
they have no future, or the future they have looks troubled. But, as Gelatt (1989) noted, “The
future does not exist and cannot be predicted. It must be imagined and invented.” (p. 255) The
interrelated tasks of Stage II outline three ways in which helpers can partner with their clients
with a view to exploring and developing this better future.
Task A—Develop Problem-Managing Possibilities. “What possibilities do I have for a better
future?” “What would my life look like if it looked better?”
In helping clients move from problems to solutions, counselors help them develop a sense of
hope.
Task B—Choose Outcomes with Impact. “What do I really want and need? What solutions are
best for me?” Here, counselors help clients craft a viable change agenda from among the
possibilities. Helping them shape this agenda is the central task of helping.
Task C—Demonstrate Commitment. “What am I willing to pay for what I want?” Help clients
discover incentives for commitment to their change agenda. It is a further look at the economics
of personal change discussed in Task C of Stage I.
TASK II-A: HELP CLIENTS DISCOVER POSSIBILITIES FOR A BETTER FUTURE “What
Would a Better Life Look Like?”
Effective helping requires imagination. In this task, you help clients develop a vision of a better
future. Once clients understand the nature of the problem situation or identify a key unused
opportunity, they need to ask themselves, “What do I want? What would my situation look like if
it were better, at least a little bit better?” Read the section “Help Clients Discover Possibilities
for a Better Future” in Chapter 10 before doing these exercises.
EXERCISE 10.1: RECOGNIZE THAT THERAPY IS A BLEND OF SCIENCE,
ENGINEERING, AND ART There are what some call the STEM (science, technology,
engineering, mathematics) professions. Designing, building, and landing the Mars Rover
involved all of these. Therapy is often described as a combination of art and science. It might be
better to say that the helping professions involve a kind of art a kind of engineering, and a kind
of science. Given what you know about the elements of successful therapy so far and the use you
have made of these elements, what is your understanding of how a kind of art, a kind of
engineering, and a kind of science intermingle in what we call therapy? 1. Answer the following
questions in the order that makes most sense to you. If you choose a particular order, muse on
why you are doing so. List some ways that therapy is an art.
List some way in which therapy is a kind of engineering.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
___________
__________________________________________________________________________
List some ways in which therapy involves one kind of science (social science).
2. Discuss your answers to the following questions with a learning partner: Why did you choose
the order you took? How do these three dimensions of therapy overlap and intermingle? How
does each element add value to the other two?
EXERCISE 10.2: IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND UNUSED OPPORTUNITIES IN THE
SOCIAL SETTINGS OF LIFE
This is another exercise that will help you review areas in which clients have problems and also
help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses. Individuals belong to and participate in a
number of different social settings in life: family, circle of friends, clubs, church groups, school
groups, work groups, and the like. People are also affected by what goes on in their
neighborhoods and the cities and towns in which they live. Larger systems, such as state and
national governments, have their ways of entering people’s lives.
1. Chart the social settings of your life as in the example below. The person in the example is
Mitch, 45, a principal of an inner-city high school in a large city. He is married and has two
teenage sons. Neither son attends the high school of which he is principal. He is seeing a
counselor because of exhaustion and bouts of hostility and depression. He has had a complete
physical check-up and there is no evidence of any medical problem.
2. Choose two or three social settings that are currently important in your life. These are settings
in which you are experiencing problems or have unused opportunities.
3. Review issues, demands, conflicts, concerns. Now take each key social setting and write down
issues or concerns in that setting. For instance, some of things Mitch writes are: School
• Some faculty members want a personal relationship with me and I have neither the time nor the
desire.
• Some faculty members have retired on the job. I don’t know what to do with them.
• Some of the white faculty members are suspicious of me and distant just because I’m black.
• One faculty member wrote the district superintendent and said that I was undermining her
reputation with other faculty members. This is not true.
• The students, both individually and through their organizations, keep asking me to be more
liberal while their parents are asking me to tighten things up
Family
• My wife says that I’m letting school consume me; she complains constantly because I don’t
spend enough time at home. Even though she wants me to spend more time at home, she
criticizes me for not spending more time with my parents.
• My kids seem to withdraw from me because I’m a double authority figure, a father and a
principal.
Parents • My mother is infirm; my retired father calls me and tells me what a hard time he’s
having getting used to retirement.
• My mother tells me not to be spending time with her when I have so much to do and then she
complains to my wife and my father when I don’t show up.
School District
• I would like to become the district superintendent. I think I could do a lot of good.
Friends
• My friends say that I spend so much time at work involving myself in crisis management that I
have no time left for them; they tell me I’m doing myself in.
4. Review possibilities for a better future. Choose two concerns arising from two different social
settings of your life. Spell out some of the possibilities for a better future in this area. What
would this problem or unused opportunity look like if it were managed better or solved? What
are some of the things that would be in place that are not now in place? Use the following probes
to help yourself brainstorm possibilities.
• Here’s what I need . . . .
• Here’s what I want . . . .
• Here are some items on my wish list . . . .
• When I’m finished I will have . . . .
• There will be . . . .
• Will have in place . . . .
• I will consistently be . . . .
• There will be more of . . . .
• There will be less of . . . .
For instance, Mitch, in reviewing the conflict between his work and his friends, comes up with
these possibilities: more time with his friends, greater flexibility in managing his calendar at
work, better integration of his friendships with his home life, a more clear-cut division between
his work setting and the other social settings of his life, more time for himself, a clearer
understanding of his career aspirations and the costs associated with them, and better delegation
on his part to the members of the school administrative team. These are all possibilities for a
better future. Now do the same for yourself. Use a separate piece of paper to map out the social
settings of your life (as Mitch did).
First social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Key issues, concerns, demands, conflicts, and unused opportunities in this social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
.Possibilities for a better future in this social setting. Second social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Key issues, concerns, demands, conflicts, and unused opportunities in this social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Possibilities for a better future in this area of concern.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Review your findings with a learning partner.
EXERCISE 10.3: BRAINSTORM POSSIBILITIES FOR A BETTER FUTURE
This exercise focuses on a number of cases, many of which you have seen before. Now you are
asked to put yourself in each person’s shoes and brainstorm possibilities for a better future. What
would things look like if they looked better? If you were this person, what are some of the things
you would want instead of what you’ve got?
1. Read the case. Put yourself in this person’s shoes. Make his or her problem situation your
own. 2. Brainstorm a number of possibilities for a better future. What would you want if you
were this person?
Case 1. Tim was a bright, personable young man. During college, he was hospitalized after
taking a drug overdose during a bout of depression. He spent six months as an inpatient. He was
assigned to “milieu therapy,” an amorphous mixture of work and recreation designed more to
keep patients busy than to help them grapple with their problems and engage in constructive
change. He was given drugs for his depression, seen occasionally by a psychiatrist, and assigned
to a therapy group that proved to be quite aimless. After leaving the hospital, his confidence
shattered, he left college and got involved with a variety of low-paying, part-time jobs. He finally
finished college by going to night school, but he avoided full-time jobs for fear of being asked
about his past. Buried inside him was the thought, “I have this terrible secret that I have to keep
from everyone.” A friend talked him into taking a college-sponsored communication skills
course one summer. The psychologist running the program, noting Tim’s rather substantial
natural talents together with his self-effacing ways, remarked to him one day, “I wonder what
kind of ambitions you have.” In an instant, Tim realized that he had buried all thoughts of
ambition. After all, he didn’t “deserve” to be ambitious. Tim, instinctively trusting the program
director, divulged the “terrible secret” about his hospitalization for the first time.
Jot down a range of possibilities for a better future.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Case 2. A nun, 44 years old, a member of a counselor training group, has been talking about her
dissatisfaction with her present job. Although a nurse, she is presently teaching in a primary
school because, she says, of the “urgent needs” of that school. When pressed, she refers briefly to
a history of job dissatisfaction. In the group, she has shown herself to be an active, intelligent,
and caring woman who tends to speak and act in self-effacing ways. She mentions how
obedience has been stressed throughout her years in the religious order. She does mention,
however, that things have been “letting up a bit” in recent years. The younger sisters don’t seem
to be as preoccupied with obedience as she is. She says: “The reason I’m talking about my job is
that I don’t want to become a counselor and then discover it’s another job I’m dissatisfied with.
It would be unfair to the people I’d be working with and unfair to my religious order, which is
paying for my education. Of course, I have no iron-clad assurance that I’ll be put in a job that
will enable me to use my counselor training.”
A range of possibilities for a better future.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______
Case 3. Marcus, 47 years old, is a successful businessman whose life is in fairly good order.
However, Yves, his younger brother, is struggling financially. His credit card debt is enormous.
For Marcus, the problem is how to extend a helping hand to his younger brother without robbing
him of his self-responsibility. He explains his dilemma to a colleague at work, “Yves is very
sensitive to this older brother-younger brother stuff. Anyway, he has it in his head that I see him
as incompetent and any help I offer is seen through that filter. I suppose that I’ll always be the
successful big brother and he will always be the inept little brother. It’s not that way really
but . . . What I can’t do is let our past history force me to stand off to the side with my hands in
my pockets and do nothing when I know I could be of some help. I’m not sure what kind of help
would make sense.”
A range of possibilities for a better future.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Case 4. This man, now 64 years old, retired early from work when he was 62. He and his wife
wanted to take full advantage of the “golden” years. But his wife died a year after he retired. At
the urging of friends, he has finally come to a counselor. He has been exploring some of the
problems his retirement has created for him. His two married sons live with their families in
other cities. In the counseling sessions, he has been dealing somewhat repetitiously with the
theme of loss. He says: “I seldom see the kids. I enjoy them and their families a lot when they do
come. I get along real well with their wives. But now that my wife is gone. . . (pause) . . . and
since I’ve stopped working . . . (pause) . . . I seem to just ramble around the house aimlessly,
which is not like me at all. I suppose I should get rid of the house, but it’s filled with a lot of
memories—bittersweet memories now. There were a lot of good years here.”
A range of possibilities for a better future.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
EXERCISE 10.4: HELP SOMEONE DEVELOP POSSIBILITIES FOR A BETTER FUTURE
In this exercise, you are asked to help one of the other members of your group develop
possibilities for a better future.
1. Divide up into groups of three for this exercise. 2. Assume, sequentially, the roles of client,
helper, and observer. 3. In the role of client, provide a summary of one of the problem situations
or undeveloped opportunities you focused on in any of the previous exercises. Or, if you prefer,
choose a new issue.
4. In the role of counselor, listen to your partner summarize his or her problem situation or
undeveloped opportunity. Use empathy and probes to get a full statement of the issue.
5. Finally, help the other develop possibilities for a better future. Use empathy, probes,
summaries, and invitations to self-challenge to help the other expand the list.
Example: Michael, a junior in college majoring in business studies, has given the following
summary of the problem situation: “My uncle runs a small business. He’s offered me a kind of
internship in the family business. While such an opportunity fits perfectly with my career plans, I
have done nothing to develop it. Right now, it’s only an interesting idea. But it still seems too
good an opportunity to miss.” Trish, his helper, uses all the communication skills learned up to
this point to help him develop possibilities for a productive internship. Some of the dialogue goes
like this:
TRISH: So you haven’t taken the time yet to spell out what the internship could look like.
MICHAEL: No. Generally, I see the internship as something that would bring to life the stuff
I’m getting out of business books right now. TRISH: So the internship would give you a chance
for some hands-on experience with business realities that are just concepts now. What could the
internship look like? MICHAEL: Well, I don’t know what’s on my uncle’s mind. Though he’s
not going to push me into anything I don’t want. TRISH: Then it seems to make sense for you to
have some ideas in mind before you talk with him about it. What would you like the internship to
look like? What do you want? MICHAEL: Let’s see. I’d be putting in 10 to 15 hours a week at
my uncle’s business. Actually, that would make sense since I’m more or less overbalanced right
now on social activities. TRISH: What would you be doing during those hours? MICHAEL:
Well, I don’t like the finance part of my program. So one thing I could do is become familiar
with the finance part of his business—where the money comes from, what kind of debt he
carries, cash flow—all those things that are still too theoretical for me in the courses I’m taking.
TRISH: You’d see finance in action. It might even seem more interesting to you then. What else
do you picture yourself doing? MICHAEL: I like to find out what management and supervision
actually looks like inside a company. I get a confused picture of both of these from what I’m
reading. TRISH: So it’s one thing to read management books, but another to see how it actually
works. What might you do as a manager or supervisor? MICHAEL: I’m not sure he’d let me run
anything important. But maybe I could run a project or two. And the project might involve
working with others—you know, like a small team. I think I’d like to see how teamwork can
affect the business. I guess what I’m saying is that my uncle’s business could be a lab for me. I’d
be contributing, but also I’d be learning a lot. TRISH: So project work and teamwork could be
important parts of the lab. But it also sounds like you want to be a contributor in all this.
MICHAEL: Yeah. I’d like to learn, but I’d like to make a difference. TRISH: What kind of
difference?
The dialogue goes on in that vein. Michael, with the help of Trish, develops a lot of possibilities
for the internship.
1. With your partner, critique this dialogue. What did Trish do well? What might have been done
better? 2. Then move on to your own dialogue. The client starts with a summary of a problem
situation or unused opportunity. Video the session.
3. In the role of counselor, help your client expand on his or her summary of the problem
situation so that it is clear and has substance.
4. Next help your client brainstorm some possibilities for a better future. What would the
problem situation look like down the road if it was being managed well? Spend about 10
minutes.
5. At the end of the session, the client gives feedback in two areas. First, what kind of progress
was made? Second, how well did the helper do his or her job? Finally, the observer gives his
overall evaluation of the session.
6. Repeat the process until each person has played each role.
EXERCISE 10.5: REVIEW THE “SHADOW SIDE” OF YOUR DECISION-MAKING STYLE
In this chapter and the next, you are going to be reviewing the elements that go into effective
goal setting, planning, and implementation of plans. Decision making plays a large role in these
processes. As mentioned in Chapter 1, helping clients make decisions about making changes is
one of the key ingredients of successful therapy. Decision making is at the heart of therapy. If
clients understand their decision-making style, they have a better chance of making life-
enhancing decisions. For example, an organizational manager who makes decisions based only
on facts (i.e., the bottom line) may end up with unhappy employees, high turnover, and poor
productivity. On the other hand, if a manager makes decisions based only on trying to make her
employees happy, the company might go out of business. There is no one right way to make a
good decision. As mentioned in Chapter 1, there are many obstacles both within the environment
and within our heads to making effective life-enhancing decisions. In this exercise, you are asked
to become more familiar with these obstacles. A number of books detailing the “shadow side” or
nonrationality of decision making were cited in Chapter 1.
1. Find and read some articles or even a book on the nonrational factors in decision making. 2.
Reflect on your own experience and list a few of these factors that might affect the way you
make decisions.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Think of someone you know who, in your estimation, tends to make poor decisions. Jot down
a few reasons for his or her poor decisions.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_ ______________________________________________________________________
4. Discuss what you learned about your and other people’s decision-making style with a learning
partner. How can you make better decisions? How can you help others make better decisions?
EXERCISE 10.6: HELP CLIENTS EXPLORE THE WAY THEY MAKE DECISIONS
If you are to help clients make better decisions, it is important to understand how clients go about
making decisions or what makes them hesitate to make life-enhancing decisions.
1. Form groups of three: client, helper, and observer.
2. The client describes a situation of reasonable substance that involves a decision of some
importance. Clients may be: (a) uncertain about whether they truly want to make a change in
their lives,
(b) certain that they want to make a change in their lives, but are unsure how to do it, or (c)
certain both that they want to make a change in their lives and how to make a change.
3. The client summarizes the situation that involves making a decision. 4. For about 10 minutes,
the helper uses his or her skills to help the client explore the decision (or decisions) involved in
the problem situation and/or unused opportunity. Video the session.
5. After the session, the three participants debrief the interaction with the help of the video. The
client takes the lead in providing feedback. The observer chimes in, and the helper provides
feedback to himself or herself. To what degree was there some positive outcome? What did the
client learn about his or her decision-making style? How effective was the helper in “nudging”
the client to some kind of life-enhancing decision? What could have been done better? 6. Change
roles and repeat the exercise.
TASK II-B: USE FLEXIBLE GUIDELINES TO HELP CLIENTS SET GOALS “What
Solutions Are Best for Me?”
Once clients have brainstormed possibilities for a better future, they need to make some choices.
Answers to the questions, “What do you want” and “What do you need?” are possible goals.
Answers to the question, “What do you really need and want?” are the actual goals that
constitute the change agenda. It is as if the client were to say, “Here is what I want in place of
what I have right now.” Goals are a critical part of an agenda for constructive change. For
instance, Michael, the college student mentioned earlier, after brainstorming a number of
possibilities for structuring his internship in his uncle’s company, chooses four of the
possibilities and makes these his agenda. He shares them with his uncle and, after some
negotiation, comes up with a revised package they can both live with. Review the section in
Chapter 10 on the task II-B in the text before doing the exercises below.
EXERCISE 10.7: TURN POSSIBILITIES INTO GOALS
In this exercise, you are asked to do what Michael had to do—choose goals from among the
possibilities. Possibilities should be chosen because they will best help you manage your
problem situation or develop some opportunity. First, read the following case.
The Case. Vanessa, a 46-year-old Latina woman, has been divorced for about a year. She has
done little to restructure her life and is still in the doldrums. At the urging of a friend, she sees a
counselor. With the counselor’s help, she brainstorms a range of possibilities for a better future
around the theme of “my new life as a single person.” She is currently a salesperson in the
women’s apparel department of a moderately upscale store. She lives in the house that was part
of the divorce settlement. She has no children. When she finally decided that she wanted
children, it was too late. There was some discussion with her ex-husband about adopting a child,
but it didn’t get very far. The marriage was already disintegrating. Her visits to the counselor
have reawakened a desire to take charge of her life and not just let it happen. She let her marriage
happen and it fell apart. She is not filled with anger at her former husband. If anything, she’s a
bit too down on herself. Her grieving is filled with self-recrimination. The helper asks her, “What
do you want now that the divorce is final? What would you like your post-divorce life to look
like? What would you want to see in place?” Vanessa brainstorms the following possibilities:
• A job in some area of the fashion industry.
• A small condo that will not need much maintenance on my part instead of the house.
• The elimination of poor-me attitudes as part of a much more creative outlook on self and life.
• The elimination of waiting around for things to happen. • The development of a social life. For
the time being, a range of friends rather than potential husbands. A couple of good women
friends.
• Getting into physical shape. • A hobby or avocation that I could get lost in. Something with
substance. • Some sort of volunteer work. With children, if possible. • Some religion-related
activities, not necessarily established-church related. Something that deals with the “bigger”
questions of life.
• An end to all the self-recrimination over the divorce. • Resetting my relationship with my
mother (who strongly disapproved of the divorce). • Getting over a deep-seated fear that my life
is going to be bland, if not actually bleak. • Possibly some involvement with politics.
1. Read the list from Vanessa’s point of view (even though you don’t really know her). 2.
Because Vanessa cannot possibly do all of these at once, she has to make some choices. Put
yourself in her place. Which items would you include in your agenda if you were Vanessa? In
what way would the agenda items, if accomplished, help manage the overall problem situation
and develop opportunities?
3. Choose three and give your reasons for including each. 4. Share your package together with
the reasons for each item in it with a learning partner. 5. Discuss the differences in the items
chosen and the reasons for the choices. Note that there is no one right package.
My first choice.
______________________________________________________________________________
My reason for the choice.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
My second choice.
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
My reason for the choice.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
My third choice.
______________________________________________________________________________
My reason for the choice.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______
EXERCISE 10.8: TURN PERSONAL POSSIBILITIES INTO PERSONAL GOALS
In this exercise, you are asked to review EXERCISE 10.2: IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND
UNUSED OPPORTUNITIES IN THE SOCIAL SETTINGS OF LIFE in which you
brainstormed a range of possibilities for a better future for yourself.
1. Pick two of the three social settings you explored. 2. In each, after reviewing the possibilities
that you brainstormed, come up with a goal and your reason for it.
3. Use the criteria outlined in Chapter 10 in order to “fashion” or “design” the goals. After
completing the exercise, share and critique your goals with a learning partner.
1. First social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Goal for this setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reason for the goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Second social setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
Goal for this setting.
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reason for the goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
EXERCISE 10.9: HELP CLIENTS TURN POSSIBILITIES INTO GOALS
In this exercise, you are asked to review EXERCISE 10.3: BRAINSTORM POSSIBILITIES
FOR A BETTER FUTURE in which you brainstormed a range of possibilities for a better future
for three different clients.
1. Pick two of the three cases in that exercise. 2. In each, turn the possibilities that you
brainstormed into a workable goal or set of goals. 3. Use the criteria outlined in Chapter 10 to
“fashion” or “design” the goals. 4. After completing the exercise, share and critique your goals
with a learning partner.
1. First case.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Possibilities turned into a goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reason for the goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Second case.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Possibilities turned into a goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Reason for the goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____
EXERCISE 10.10: SHAPING GOALS—FROM BROAD TO SPECIFIC
Many clients set goals that are too vague to be accomplished. “I’m going to clean up my act” is
nothing more than a good intention. It is not yet a goal. Part of shaping, then, is making goals
specific enough to drive action. This exercise involves moving from vagueness to concreteness.
1. First, evaluate the goal Tom and Carol (in the example below) have set for themselves in
terms of its specificity. If you don’t think it is specific enough, shape it—that is, make it more
specific.
2. Then, in the cases that follow, get inside the client’s mind and try to determine what he or she
might need or want.
3. Then, move from a vaguely stated good intention to a broad aim and then to a specific goal. 4.
Finally, learning partners should share the goals they have written and provide feedback for each
other. When necessary, goals should be reformulated.
Example: Tom, 42, and his wife, Carol, 39, have been talking to a counselor about how poorly
they relate to each other. They have explored their own behavior in concrete ways, have
developed a variety of new perspectives on themselves as both individuals and as a couple, and
now want to do something about what they have learned. In broad terms, they have agreed to
stop blaming each other for their problems and take mutual responsibility for creating a better
relationship. What follows is their first shot at moving from a vague to a more specific goal in
the area of communication:
Good Intention: “We’ve got to do something about the way we communicate with each other.
It’s just not healthy.” General Aim: “We are constantly at each other over inconsequential issues
and then it escalates. We’d like to do something about the way we bicker.” Specific Goal(s):
“We want to call a moratorium on what has become almost childish bickering. We want to stop
second-guessing, picking on, correcting, one-upping, putting down, questioning, and being
hurtful to each other. But we don’t want to leave a vacuum. We need something positive to take
its place. For instance, when we kid around, each of us should make himself or herself, not the
other, the butt of any joke. When we do disagree about something important, we should avoid
overly personal heated arguments and instead engage in mutual problem solving based on the
skilled helping process we are using in counseling.”
First, critique the specific goals in the above example and then work on the cases below.
1. Sherry, a 42-year-old single White woman, just had her annual physical and was told that she
needs to lose weight and improve her health. She was prescribed medication for both high blood
pressure and cholesterol. She is a long-time smoker (a pack a day) and self-confessed
“chocaholic.” Sherry readily acknowledges that she needs to change the way she lives and to
take better care of herself, but says “Trying to raise two teenagers and work full-time makes
eating healthy and exercising regularly really hard.”
Statement of good intention.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Broad aim.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Specific goal(s).
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______
2. Troy, 30, has been discussing the stress he has been experiencing during this transitional year
of his life. Part of the stress relates to his job. He has been working as an accountant with a large
firm for the past five years. He makes a decent salary, but he is more and more dissatisfied with
the kind of work he is doing. He finds accounting predictable and boring. He doesn’t feel that
there’s much chance for advancement in this company. Many of his associates are much more
ambitious and much more inventive than he is.
Statement of good intention.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_
Broad aim.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______ Specific goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______
5. Jaime, a 32-year-old married woman, has two small children. Her husband has left her and she
has no idea where he is. She has no relatives in the city and only a few acquaintances. She is
talking to a counselor in a local community center about her plight. Since her husband was the
breadwinner, she now has no income and no savings on which to draw.
Statement of good intention.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______ Broad aim.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______ Specific goal.
______________________________________________________________________________
______
______________________________________________________________________________
______
EXERCISE 10.11: HELP LEARNING PARTNER SHAPE GOALS AND MAKE SURE THAT
THEY ARE WORKABLE
Accomplishing goals is a lot of work. If the goals chosen are themselves flawed, then the job
becomes almost impossible. For instance, if Dylan chooses a career for which he does not have
the talent, he is doing himself no favor. Hard work won’t make up for the talent deficit. In order
to be workable, goals generally need to be:
• stated as outcomes, • specific enough to drive action,
• substantial enough to make a difference,
• characterized by the right mixture of risk and prudence,
• realistic,
• sustainable
• flexible,
• congruent with the client’s values, and
• set in a reasonable time frame.
These characteristics can be seen as tools that help you shape both your own and clients’ goals.
1. With a learning partner, return to the four goals that each of you set in Exercises 10.2 and
10.3. Use the above characteristics to review them once more.
2. What changes might you make in each of these goals to make them conform to the above
characteristics?
