Setting Goals and Defining Progress in Therapy

Goal Setting in Therapy

Setting goals is a common practice. Some people like to set goals for their year, also known as their New Year's resolution. When starting therapy, it can be challenging to consider how to set goals and measure progress. Therapy is a deeply personal experience that unfolds at a unique pace for each individual. Sometimes, goals can feel overwhelming and hard to accomplish. Some ways you can make goal-setting more effective for therapy include:

• Knowing what goals you want to accomplish

• When you first start therapy, it can be helpful to set some goals you want to accomplish during your time with your therapist. Some examples of relevant goals to discuss with your therapist could include:

• Learning better methods for dealing with anxiety

• Having a space to process something happening in your life

• Developing healthy communication skills to improve personal relationships

• Discovering your identity and values to guide you through a season of change or transition

• Make goals that are achievable and short-term to start

• You don’t want your only goal to be fixing all your problems. That is a fantastic goal, but it can feel overwhelming. When a goal is too big, it can be hard to figure out where to start.

• Setting smaller goals, such as reducing anxiety about attending a specific event or minimizing stress when meeting new people, can be beneficial. This approach allows you to see progress and build on your short-term objectives to achieve a long-term goal.

Defining Progress in Therapy

The good news about defining progress in therapy is that it is entirely subjective, meaning you get to decide what that means for you.  However, that can also make it challenging to track progress in therapy if you are not able to define objective ways to measure if you’re meeting your goals. Some ways you can track your progress:

• Using a mood journal or mood tracking app 

•  Checking in on the short-term goals you set for yourself

• Keeping a log of  new coping techniques you’ve learned

• Maintaining a list in your journal of new things you have learned about yourself

Some ways to set goals and make progress in Therapy

• Communication is KEY

• Going over your goals with your therapist is extremely helpful. They can help you create a plan of action to achieve your goals, or even take a long-term goal and break it down into short-term objectives with you.

• Telling your therapist what you want to take from therapy can also help them frame the time you have together in a way that will best accommodate your wants and needs.

• Sometimes you feel like you're making slow progress or not making any progress at all. Talking to your therapist can help you find solutions to the lack of progress, such as reframing your short-term goals. 

• Set time with your therapist to check your progress

• Make time at the end of sessions, talk about methods and ways you can use over the week to accomplish your goals

• Then, at the start of your next session, talk about what you liked or didn’t like about these methods

De Jong, K., Douglas, S., Wolpert, M., Delgadillo, J., Aas, B., Bovendeerd, B., Carlier, I., Compare, A., Edbrooke-Childs, J., Janse, P., Lutz, W., Moltu, C., Nordberg, S., Poulsen, S., Rubel, J. A., Schiepek, G., Schilling, V. N. L. S., van Sonsbeek, M., & Barkham, M. (2025). Using Progress Feedback to Enhance Treatment Outcomes: A Narrative Review. Administration and policy in mental health, 52(1), 210–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-024-01381-3

Scout Gomez

Scout is an undergraduate intern for Flourish Counseling & Wellness. Scout is currently a third-year student at Colorado State University, majoring in psychology and minoring in political science.

She hopes to continue her education in the future in a postgrad setting and eventually wants to become a licensed therapist.