Moving
Forward
Defining Problems and Setting
Goals
Please ask your doctor or Wellbeing worker for an
interpreter if you need one
Contents
Page
Your problems
3-5
Setting your goals
6
Short term goals
7
Medium term goals
8
Long term goals
9
Attachments:
Patient example
2
Your problems
Before overcoming any problem you need to be clear what it is.
If you see your problem as being depressed, working with your Wellbeing
worker will help you know what it is about being depressed that is a
problem to you.
Your problem may be lack of sleep, loss of enjoyment in activities, or not
feeling you want to go out.
Your Wellbeing worker may suggest that you monitor your feelings,
thoughts and behaviour for one week: this may help you to identify the
problem.
The following questions may be helpful in defining your problem:
o How is your usual day affected?
o Does the problem only happen at a certain time or place?
o Does the problem only happen when you are with a certain person
or group of people?
o Is the problem stopping you from doing anything?
3
Using the questions from the last page and the information you have
talked about with your Wellbeing worker to write your problems in the
spaces below.
Then chose a number using the scale of 0 to 8 and put this in the first
box. This will be looked at often to see how the problem has changed.
This problem affects me:
0
not at
all
2
a little
4
sometimes
6
a lot
8
all the
time
Problem 1
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2
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Problem 2
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1
2
3
4
5
Problem 3
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1
2
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5
4
It is best to work on one or two problems at a time, so start with the two
that are most important.
Work on these and when you have completed them, you can start on the
others.
5
Setting your goals
Goals are what you would like to aim for.
Plan your goals in stages
Short term goals - over the next few days and weeks
Medium term goals - over the next few weeks to months
Long term goals - over the next few years and your life-long goals
you may want to work towards.
When setting a goal be:
o Clear
o Realistic
o Positive
Use the next pages to make some notes of goals you may wish to work
towards. Review them with your Wellbeing worker and talk with them if
you find this hard.
6
Short-term Goals
(Over the next few weeks)
Goal 1:
Goal 2:
Goal 3:
7
Medium-term Goals
(Over the next few months to a year)
Goal 1:
Goal 2:
Goal 3:
8
Long-term Goals
(Things you may wish to work towards over your lifetime, you may wish
to redefine these towards the end of your work with the wellbeing
service)
Goal 1:
Goal 2:
Goal 3:
9
Moving Forward
Defining Problems and Setting Goals Patient example
Jenny was referred to the Wellbeing worker at her surgery after visiting the
Practice Nurse for a routine appointment. During the appointment with the
nurse Jenny became very tearful and told her that she had been feeling
down for some time now. The nurse said it might be helpful to go and see
the Wellbeing worker.
Jenny felt worried when she first saw the Wellbeing worker. She did not
understand why she was feeling so tearful and Jenny was glad that the
Wellbeing worker made her feel comfortable while they talked about her
problems. In the first session Jenny began to link her feelings to problems
at work: she could identify she felt stressed from recent changes and
working long hours.
Jenny left the session with a booklet to help her to try to organise some of
these issues into problems and goals.
Her first short term goal was to use the relaxation CD given to her by the
Wellbeing worker 3 times per week. Jenny recognised that her workload
was difficult but she felt unable to deal with this right away.
Her medium term goal was to deal with her work and speak to her new
manager about the amount of work she had been given.
Although the recent changes at work had led to Jenny’s problems she had
not been happy in her job for quite a while: her long term plan was to find
out about training courses, to help her look for other jobs she would like.
At the end of the sessions with the Wellbeing worker Jenny had made good
progress with all of her goals and felt confident in carrying on with this.
10