Specific and Detailed Treatment Plan Interventions

The list on this page is not an exhaustive list of interventions, but serve as an example of the interventions found in the Treatment Plans by Wiley Publishing. For my clients, your official treatment plan will be created in the Electronic Health Care Records System software “Therapy Notes LLC.” PDF copies of each “issue specific” treatment plan will be uploaded into your electronic health records.

Somatic (Physical Body) Interventions:

These interventions focus on the body, aiming to promote awareness, relaxation, and regulation of bodily sensations. Examples include deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, massage therapy, and biofeedback. Sensorimotor interventions target the connection between the body and mind, emphasizing the importance of bodily experiences in psychological well-being. Techniques such as sensorimotor psychotherapy and somatic experiencing help individuals process and release physical and emotional tension stored in the body. The polyvagal theory informs interventions that address the autonomic nervous system’s role in regulating emotions and social engagement. Techniques such as grounding exercises, breathwork, and self-soothing strategies can help regulate the nervous system and promote a sense of safety and calm.

Daily Practice of Meditation and Breathing Techniques

The teachings and resources you need to begin a formal practice of meditation and mindfulness, guided by others, and especially helpful if you have difficulty staying still for any length of time.

Guided Meditation

Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques:

Interventions that incorporate mindfulness and relaxation techniques aim to promote self-awareness, reduce stress, and enhance emotional regulation. Techniques such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery help clients develop mindfulness skills and increase their ability to tolerate distressing emotions. These interventions recognize the interplay between mental and physical health. Practices like mindfulness meditation, guided imagery, tai chi, and qigong foster a mind-body connection, promoting relaxation, stress reduction, and overall well-being.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anger Management:

Participate in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for learning a new approach to experiencing anger and anger management. Learn how to use an ACT approach so you can experience and accept the presence of worrisome thoughts and images without being overly impacted by them, and committing your time and efforts to activities that are consistent with identified, personally meaningful values. Counselor will hold fidelity to “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” by Hayes, Strosahl, and Wilson. Learn mindfulness meditation to help you recognize the negative thought processes associated with your trauma responses and change your relationship with these thoughts by accepting thoughts, images, and impulses that are reality-based while noticing but not reacting to nonreality-based mental phenomena. Read self-help mindfulness books by Jon Kabat Zin. Assignment of homework where you practice the lessons learned from mindfulness meditation and ACT in order to consolidate the approach into everyday life. Assignment of homework to readings consistent with the mindfulness and ACT approach to supplement work done in session (Get Out of Your Mind and
Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Hayes).

Worry Time Skill:

Learn and implement a strategy to limit the association between various environmental settings and worry, delaying the worry until a designated “worry time.” Therapist will tell you the rationale for using a worry time as well as how it is to be used; and agree upon a worry time with you and ask you to implement the plan. Therapist will teach you how to recognize, stop, and postpone worry to the agreed-upon worry time using skills such as thought
stopping, relaxation, and redirecting attention

Assignment of Homework: “Making Use of the Thought-Stopping Technique” and/or “Worry Time” in the Adult Psychotherapy Homework Planner by Jongsma to assist skill development); therapist will continue to encourage you to use worry time in daily life; therapist will review and reinforce your successes while providing corrective feedback toward improvement.

Emotional interventions:

These interventions target the identification, expression, and regulation of emotions. Techniques such as emotion-focused therapy (EFT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and internal family systems therapy (IFS) help individuals explore and process emotions, develop emotional awareness, and enhance emotional regulation skills.

Anger Self Talk:

Identify, challenge, and replace anger-inducing self-talk with self-talk that facilitates a less angry reaction.

Your therapist will help you explore self-talk that mediates your angry feelings and actions (demanding expectations reflected in should, must, or have-to statements); help you identify and challenge biases, assisting you in generating appraisals and self-talk that corrects for the biases and facilitates a more flexible and temperate response to frustration. You will learn to combine new self-talk with calming skills as part of a set of coping skills to manage
anger. Assignment of a homework exercise in which you identify angry self-talk and generate alternatives that help moderate angry reactions; therapist will review the homework progress; reinforce your successes, providing corrective feedback toward improvement. You and therapist can role-play the use of relaxation and cognitive coping to visualized anger-provoking scenes, moving from low- to high-anger scenes. Assignment of homework: the implementation of calming techniques in your daily life and when facing anger-triggering situations; process the results with your therapist, therapist will reinforce your successes and engage in problem-solving obstacles if necessary.

Assertive Communication:

Gain understanding and mastery of assertive communication and how it can be used to express thoughts and feelings of anger in a controlled, respectful way. Your counselor will use instruction, modeling, and/or role-playing to help you learn the distinctive elements as well as the pros and cons of assertive, unassertive (passive), and aggressive communication.

Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions:

Cognitive-behavioral interventions focus on identifying and modifying unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to distress. Techniques such as cognitive restructuring, thought challenging, and behavioral experiments help clients develop more adaptive thinking and behavior patterns.

Interpersonal Interventions:

Interpersonal interventions target improving the client’s interpersonal relationships and communication skills. Techniques may involve role-playing, assertiveness training, or exploring relational patterns and attachment styles to enhance healthy connections with others.

Interpersonal Effectiveness:

Learn and implement problem solving and/or conflict resolution skills to manage interpersonal problems. Learn problem-solving skills (defining the problem clearly, brainstorming multiple solutions, listing the pros and cons of each solution, seeking input from others, selecting and implementing a plan of action, evaluating the outcome, and readjusting the plan as necessary). Learn conflict resolution skills (empathy, active listening, “A part of me messages,” respectful communication, assertiveness without aggression, compromise); your counselor will use modeling, roleplaying, and behavior rehearsal to work through several current conflicts. You may want to consider holding conjoint sessions with the person you are having a conflict with to help you implement assertion, problem-solving, and/or conflict resolution skills in the presence of your significant other.

Strategies to Overcome Under Functioning vs Over Functioning Dynamic:

Spiritual interventions:

These interventions address a person’s spiritual or existential concerns and beliefs. Practices may include meditation, contemplative exercises, exploring meaning and purpose, and integrating spiritual values into therapy to foster a sense of connection, transcendence, and personal growth.

Social/Cultural Interventions:

Social and cultural interventions target improving the client’s social relationships, connection to a community, and honoring cultural traditions of healing and interaction with your culture’s groups. Techniques may involve planning and implementing gatherings, celebrations, and ceremonies in order to connect you with your community and culture, considered as a source of strength for many.

Learn and Implement Coping Skills:

Learn and implement calming skills to reduce overall anxiety and manage anxiety symptoms. Calming/relaxation skills (applied relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, cue controlled relaxation; mindful breathing; biofeedback) to discriminate better between relaxation and tension; applying these skills to daily life (Book suggestions: New Directions in Progressive Muscle Relaxation by Bernstein, Borkovec, and Hazlett-Stevens; Treating GAD by Rygh and Sanderson). Assignment of homework after each session in which you practice relaxation exercises daily, gradually applying them progressively from non-anxiety provoking to anxiety-provoking situations; therapist will review and reinforce success while providing corrective feedback toward improvement.

Wiley Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner (Anxiety)

Relapse Prevention and Aftercare Planning:

Interventions related to relapse prevention and aftercare planning focus on equipping clients with strategies and resources to maintain progress achieved in therapy. This may involve developing a relapse prevention plan, creating a support network, identifying warning signs, and practicing healthy coping skills.