Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Week 10 - Planning and Implementing Change-Oriented Strategies
Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Week 10 - Planning and Implementing Change-Oriented Strategies
Planning is an integral part of working with clients. After we have assessed their needs, we need to help develop goals for our clients to work on as we move into the intervention stage of the planned change process. Students will read two chapters from Hepworth et al. (2023) focused on developing goals and the types of interventions we might choose to engage our clients in. During class, we will explore goal-setting and goal-creation. The following is the agenda for the class session.
- Course content discussion (feedback, papers, and upcoming assignment)
- Information about goals
- The six steps to planning
- Practice doing the planning process
The learning objectives this week include:
- Explain the purpose, function, and types of goals used in social work practice.
- Apply the six-step planning process to develop goals collaboratively.
Week 10 Plan
Agenda
- Course content discussion (feedback, papers, and upcoming assignment)
- Information about goals
- The six steps to planning
- Practice doing the planning process
Learning Objectives
- Explain the purpose, function, and types of goals used in social work practice.
- Apply the six-step planning process to develop goals collaboratively.
Feedback from papers is coming soon
I’m sorry, I haven’t finished your papers. They are a priority to get done before class next week for you all.
Assignment 04a: Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play
Worth 200 points, or 50% of the student’s final grade, the assignment has two parts, each worth 100 points. The Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play is a key assignment for the social work program. This assignment allows you to view yourself as a social worker conducting an interview. The Interviewing Skills Reflective Paper provides a space to self-critique your engagement and interviewing skills.
Meta: Points 100 pts (25% of student’s final grade); Deadline Monday 11/16/26 by 08:00 AM; Completion students submit through Anthology Portfolio (MyHeritage Assignments); Locations Assignment Description and Rubric, Appendix E. Compress a Video to Reduce the File Size (Desktop Computer), and Assignment Detail.
Purpose: The Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play supports students in confirming the acquisition of interviewing skills through the application of person in the environment, empathetic responding, reflective responding, and other interpersonal skills.
Task: Students will work with a partner to record a 15 to 20-minute interview. The interview should be a role-play of an initial meeting between a social worker and a fictional client. Students have the freedom to develop their settings for the interview. This assignment is designed to offer the student the opportunity to demonstrate engagement, the sixth competency described by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The following is the language used in the 2022 education and policy standards (EPAS):
Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Social workers understand that engagement is an ongoing component of the dynamic and interactive process of social work practice with and on behalf of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Social workers value the importance of human relationships. Social workers understand theories of human behavior and person-in-environment and critically evaluate and apply this knowledge to facilitate engagement with clients and constituencies, including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers are self-reflective and understand how bias, power, and privilege as well as their personal values and personal experiences may affect their ability to engage effectively with diverse clients and constituencies. Social workers use the principles of interprofessional collaboration to facilitate engagement with clients, constituencies, and other professionals as appropriate.
Social workers:
a. apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; and
b. use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies. (p. 11)
The following are the instructions for this assignment:
- Students will record a 15 to 20-minute role-play with a classmate. To complete this, students should use a tripod or stable surface to record the role-play with a cell phone or other recording device.
- Each student’s role-play will have three parts: (1) introduce the role-play setting, (2) complete the client interview using listening and attending skills discussed and practiced in class, and (3) debrief the role-play with your partner.
- The intention is to demonstrate your ability to use attentive listening, open-ended questions, empathetic responding, and other skills. The focus is not on solving the person’s problem or difficulties.
- Students can do each of the three parts with the camera rolling. During the debrief with your partner, discuss (a) the things that you said/did that helped the other person feel comfortable and open up, (b) the things that you could have improved, and (c) any suggestions or feedback from your partner.
- After completing the first interview, switch roles and do another 15 to 20-minute role play following the same format.
- Each student should upload their final video of them as the interviewer to Anthology Portfolio for the instructor’s assessment.
- Your video may be too large to upload to Anthology Portfolio and needs to be compressed. Appendix E provides step-by-step directions with screenshots to reduce your video’s file size.
Success: Each student will submit a video of themselves demonstrating their interviewing skills. Grades will be based on the Appendix B Practice Behaviors Rubric, which evaluates students based on CSWE Competency 6. Feedback from the instructor will be completed by final grades, due Wednesday 12/16/26 at 5:00 PM.
Appendix B. Practice Behaviors Rubric
The Practice Behaviors Rubric assesses CSWE Competency 6 for the interviewing skills video role-play. The following assignment in this course will be graded according to this rubric: A-04a Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play.
| Description | Initial | Emerging | Developed | Highly Developed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment [HBSE] and practice context to engage the client | Demonstrates lack of knowledge of HBSE and practice context through the use of inappropriate strategies or questions. | Demonstrates some HBSE and practice knowledge, but the interviewer also shows some misunderstandings. | Demonstrates a basic fundamental understanding of HBSE and practice context knowledge but may have some gaps in applying appropriate strategies. | Utilizes strategies, including choice of language, level of assertiveness, etc., that is appropriate for the individual client based on knowledge of HBSE and practice context |
| Use empathy to engage the client effectively. | Communicates judgmental statements during the interview and does not help the client to feel understood. | Demonstrates beginning skills at empathy but has lapses that communicate judgment of the client or create an atmosphere that is too formal to build trust. | Demonstrates a sufficient amount of empathy and understanding. There are very few statements that might be perceived as judgmental. | Demonstrates empathy and understanding throughout the entire client interaction. Refrains from statements that might be perceived as judgmental. |
| Use reflection to engage the client effectively. | Does not create a flow from one question to the next. Asks primarily closed questions. Jumps from topic to topic without regard for themes. | Asks several closed questions but includes some open-ended questions. The student begins to address the client’s feelings. Has at least some ability to direct the conversation. | Utilizes primarily open-ended questions. Acknowledges client’s feelings and encourages the client to share thoughts. | Utilizes well-planned, open-ended questions that allow the client to expand on thoughts and feelings. Reflects on the main ideas the client shares and gently directs the interview toward those themes. |
| Use interpersonal skills to engage the client effectively. | Communicates discomfort or disinterest through verbal and nonverbal behavior. | Demonstrates some basic verbal and nonverbal communication skills but is not yet able to communicate warmth and genuineness to the client. | Elements of the interview clearly communicate warmth and genuineness, although there may be lapses. A few attending and communications techniques are included. The conversation flows fairly well. | Communicates basic helping skills to the client from the greeting and throughout verbally and nonverbally. Demonstrates a combination of attending skills. Has the ability to keep momentum in the conversation and uses silence appropriately. |
Midcourse Feedback
I want to go over the midcourse feedback. I did only get 9 responses, where I had hoped to get a lot more.
What’s going well
- In-class activities and discussion came up most, in about five responses. Students named the activities in every class, discussions they called “thought provoking and personable,” practice interviews, and hearing other perspectives.
- Course materials and supports (presentation slides, reading quizzes, podcasts): PowerPoints to follow along with. Two students said being able to take notes on the slides during class helps. One added that in-person sessions are “always organized.” Reading before class helps. Another student listed quizzes, readings, podcasts and videos together.
- My energy, how I teach, and availability: Your energy and how you teach. Students describe you as passionate, interactive, “always happy,” with lectures that “go by fast” and give good examples. One wrote a long response praising the mix of lectures, videos, visuals, group work and supplemental material, and said they look forward to class every week. Availability. Two students mentioned that you answer questions after class.
- Course content (workload and learning): Workload. One student called it very manageable. What they’re learning. One student said they are taking in the course’s central idea: seeing the whole person rather than just the problem, and how family, relationships and environment shape behavior.
What’s not going well
Five of the nine said nothing is wrong (“No comments or complains,” “nothing. everything is great”). The four real points were:
- Material can be hard to follow: Hard-to-follow theory. One student struggles with some theories when a lot comes at once, and finds some readings hard to understand.
- Keeping track of what’s due. One wants reminders about upcoming work. Another wants a to-do list that covers assignments from all classes, which is partly about MyHeritage rather than just your course.
What you could do differently
Six said nothing. The three concrete suggestions were:
- One page with every assignment, in date order. This is the clearest ask, and Q2 and Q4 point the same way.
- More class discussion, and more time to prepare before projects.
The Office: Birthday Party Planning
Watch a clip from The Office that includes some simple planning
Today we are talking about planning.
Linkages in the Planned Change Process
There should be a link and connection directly following each step in the planned change process.
- Assessment
- Targeted Concerns
- Goals
(Hepworth et al., 2017)
Purpose and Function of Goals
Goals often take a circuitous path, where we help the client reach goal attainment. A part of this process is…
Emphasizing client values in the goal-formation process maximizes the motivating force of goals and ensures that you and your clients are working in harmony toward the same outcome (p. 240)
- Priority Concerns (starting point)
- Task or Objective (incremental action steps)
- Attainment (goal completion)
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Factors Influencing Goal Development
Several factors influence goal development.
[Whole Class Activity] Discuss examples of each of these.
- Client Participation: Most important. Working harder than your client… influences commitment, self-definition, and self-efficacy
- Involuntary Status: Difficult to engage
- Values and Beliefs: client vs. practitioner goals and views
- Resources and Supports: Personal resources (think cognitive deficit and functioning), involvement of others
- Environmental Conditions: Complex and multi-systemic
(Hepworth et al., 2017)
Individual Goal Focus
There are a few general areas we might focus our goals for individuals on. We can think about this in terms of functioning.
- Cognitive functioning (e.g., increase positive self-talk)
- Emotional functioning (e.g., manage anger)
- Behavioral change (e.g., listen to others without interrupting).
(Hepworth et al., 2017)
Types of Goals: Descriptors
When considering changes to goals in these broad domains, we can also apply a descriptor to the goal.
The first two descriptors are related to time
- Long-term: frame people’s ambitions within their identities and values
- Short-term: reflects a partialized version of a long-term (e.g., they need to fit within their long-term goals)
Share about the WISe family vision, team mission, meeting needs, and goal.
There are many other formats or types of goals that our clients might have:
- Approach Goals: identify a positive end state, usually emphasizing growth and change (e.g., “I will improve my grades in photography”)
- Avoidance Goals: identify a future state to be avoided or minimized (e.g., “I won’t commit any new crimes”)
- Performance Goal: goals define an outcome (e.g., “I will pass all my classes this semester with a B or better.”)
- Learning Goal: emphasize process and the acquisition of knowledge and skills that people can use to achieve short- and long-term goals (e.g., “I will be able to write CER.”)
- Empowerment Goals: framed toward self-determination and agency. They operate at the sociopolitical level, often emphasizing dimensions of consciousness raising, education, social support, and access to resources (e.g., “I will advocate for myself by asking my teacher for help when I do not know how to do a task.”)
- Conformity: They are represented in mandates and the prerogatives of program objectives and referring authorities (e.g., “I will follow my probation contract.”)
- Risk/resilience: Identify changes in risk and protective processes that are likely to alleviate presenting problems (e.g., “I will put my phone in do not disturb by 10 pm”)
[Small Group Activity] Discuss with a partner each type of goal and some potential goals you might have in each area.
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Guidelines for Selecting and Defining Goals
In thinking about goals, there are some guidelines we should follow
- Goal statements should be framed positively
- Structure specific goals to enhance motivation
- Short-term goals need to be matched to clients’ values, culture, preferences, and their long-term goals
- There is a need to balance goal types
- short-term goals with long-term goals
- performance goals with learning goals
- avoidance goals with approach goals
- compliance-conformity goals with empowerment and risk/resilience goals
- Goals should maximize client choice within the constraints of program objectives and referral mandates
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
SMART GOALS
SMART goals are a strategy used throughout clinical practice discussions. My first exposure came when I worked at Jubilee; I taught the kids on my caseload that goals have to be SMART.
Our textbook describes SMART as a popular mnemonic that comes out of research on goal setting. Effective goals have the following qualities:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-limited
(Hepworth et al., 2023, p. 240)
Each quality has research support. Specificity points to the tasks and activities that help a client reach the goal. Measurability allows us to monitor progress and give feedback, which supports motivation. Achievable and realistic keep the goal within what the client sees as possible. Time limits are a central feature of effective social work interventions (Hepworth et al., 2023).
Achievable and realistic does not mean easy. Reaching a goal takes work, and motivated people with support can achieve difficult goals (Hepworth et al., 2023).
SMART Goals: Other Versions
You will see SMART everywhere, but the words behind the letters change depending on who is using it. Our own textbook uses two different versions in two chapters.
| Source | S | M | A | R | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doran (1981), the original from management | Specific | Measurable | Assignable | Realistic | Time-related |
| Hepworth et al. (2023, p. 240), goal formulation | Specific | Measurable | Achievable | Realistic | Time-limited |
| Hepworth et al. (2023, p. 296), case management planning | Specific | Measurable | Achievable | Relevant | Time-bound |
| Common version found in agencies and online | Specific | Measurable | Attainable | Relevant | Time-bound |
- Doran’s original: George Doran wrote it for managers writing corporate objectives. His “A” was assignable, meaning naming who will do it. He also said not every objective has to meet all five criteria or be quantified. The closer we get to them, the smarter the objective (Doran, 1981).
- SMAARRT: Behavioral health treatment planning expands the acronym to seven letters (Mancini, 2021, based on Adams & Grieder, 2014). It is the version I sometimes teach out of in the MSW program.
- Specific: clear, concise, and says who will do what
- Measurable: you know when it is achieved because it can be counted or measured
- Actionable and Achievable: the person has the power to accomplish it in a reasonable time frame
- Relevant and Recovery-oriented: it aligns with recovery and what the client wants
- Time-limited: the completion date is specified
References
Adams, N., & Grieder, D. M. (2014). Treatment planning for person-centered care: Shared decision making for whole health (2nd ed.). Elsevier.
Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), 35–36.
Hepworth, D. H., Vang, P. D., Blakey, J. M., Schwalbe, C., Evans, C., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., & Strom, K. (2023). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (11th ed.). Cengage Learning, Inc.
Mancini, M. A. (2021). Person-centered treatment planning. In Integrated behavioral health practice (pp. 123–153). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59659-0_5
Strategies for Developing Goals with Involuntary Clients
There are some activities we can do as clinicians to assist in developing goals with involuntary clients.
- Motivational Congruence: “work on target goals that are personally meaningful to the client and that also satisfy the requirements of the mandate” (Roony 2009 as cited in Hepworth, 2017, p. 322)
- Agreeable Mandate: Work on bridging differing views through cognitive reframing and finding common ground.
- Let’s Make a Deal: Work on negotiating through helping meet their needs.
- Getting Rid of the Mandate: Focus on getting rid of services.
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (1 of 12) - Overview and Demonstration
There are six stages that the textbook describes that we must go through in planning.
-> Before we can determine a goal, we must also assess the need and strengths/resources
- Determine clients’ readiness
- Explain the purpose and function of goals
- Formulate client-driven goals
- Increase goal specificity
- Determine barriers and benefits
- Rank goals according to priorities
[Whole Class Activity] Goal Formulation Demonstration Demonstrate going through each stage with a student in front of the class.
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (2 of 12) - Creating A Goal Plan
As we will be going through this process, you are going to create an entire goal plan. On a piece of paper, you are going to collect all of this information from your partner. To start with, I would focus on what the problem is that is going to be addressed and potentially start to gather some strengths and resources (although you can add to that throughout the process)
Next week, we’ll go through some other scenarios, and you’ll complete a form. This week, you can just write some notes on a piece of paper.
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Area of Focus
- What is the problem you are going to address through planning today?
- Determine some strengths and resources.
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (3 of 12) - Determine Clients’ Readiness
The first step we go through in goal formulation is determining a client’s readiness for working on the goal.
- It is important to assess readiness early in the process
- Consider using summaries or scaling
- Recognize that there might be reluctance
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Readiness Have students determine the readiness to address their goal in their pair.
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (4 of 12) - Purpose and Function of Goals
We should spend time explaining the purpose and function of goals
- Spend time educating clients about goals
- Help recognize the match between their goals, program goals, and referral mandates
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Goal Psychoeducation Have students discuss the purpose and function of goals with their partner.
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (5 of 12) - Formulating Client-Driven Goals
Then we work to help them formulate goals that are meaningful to them.
Potential Methods to Obtain
- Solicit quotes or client description
- Offer tentative suggestions
It becomes our job to help shape and give focus to their goals
Examples of how we might help shape goals:
- When clients give avoidance goals, you can reach for positive opposites that they can work towards
- For clients who express low confidence or efficacy beliefs about achieving a new or challenging goal, consider suggesting a learning goal
- For clients who express a low goal commitment, consider a focus on their long-term goals before focusing explicitly on their short-term goals
–> Next slide, small group process after
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (6 of 12) - Increase Goal Specificity
Next, we move on to making the goal more specific.
Help clients call out all of the parts of a good goal… e.g., make it SMART.
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Goal Formulation Work with a partner in determining both a broad understanding of the goal and then helping to make it more specific.
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (7 of 12) - Writing a Goal
You will often have to write out goals on a contract. For this experience, write your goal statement on a piece of paper.
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Writing a Goal Develop a specific goal statement.
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (8 of 12) - Review Goal Statement
Now that you all have a goal statement, I want you to review it. We can ask ourselves the following questions about the goal.
- Is it linked to the defined target concern?
- Is it defined in explicit and measurable terms?
- Is it feasible?
- Is it stated in positive terms that emphasize growth?
-> Not Hepworth et al. 2023… maybe 2017?
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Goal review Review the goal statement created based on the above questions.
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (9 of 12) - Barriers and Benefits
The next step includes determining barriers and benefits of the goal.
- Use scaling questions about goal commitment
- Anticipate future barriers
- Discuss intrinsic benefits
- Provide incentives and rewards when possible
- Explicitly link short- and long-term goals
(Hepworth et al., 2023)
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (10 of 12) - Defining Barriers
Now write out what some of those barriers might be.
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice - Barriers Start framing the goal that you have developed with your pair as a specific goal statement
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (11 of 12) - Ranking Goals
The final stage is to rank goals according to priorities
Your job is to help clients sort their priorities to keep them from feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
Process of Goal Formulation Practice (12 of 12) - Action Steps
A part of goal development often includes action steps. Some general tasks may need to happen, or they may be tied to the client or the clinician.
[Small Group Activity] Goal Formulation Practice Develop some action steps for the goal