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All clients have a recovery vision. At times it may be difficult to articulate. It is important for us to help the person find a vision for hope. For many, it may be a “going away” vision such as “staying out of the hospital”. Some people have a “going toward” vision that seems impossible such as “being the president”. Recovery vision should be revisited frequently and updated.

There is no federal or state requirement for the number of goals that must be present on a treatment plan. Bottom line, there should be only a manageable number of goals that are prioritized based on the client’s needs at the time. As one gets accomplished, additional goals get added.

As with goals, there are no federal or state requirements for the number of objectives. Again it is more about content and quality than quantity. A good rule of thumb is there should be a maximum of 3-4 objectives for every goal. Remember that each objective has interventions of various types and modalities. Objectives should be changed or revised on the treatment plan at the time of review.

A goal should be achievable with the client’s “estimated length of stay” or “episode of care”- meaning there needs to be sense that at some point in time the client will be discharged. This does not necessarily mean that the client will leave services entirely but that they will no longer receive services at the same intensity as before.

Objectives should be written to be accomplished within the time frame of the current treatment plan. This means the time will vary by program and service. While objectives could be carried over from one plan to another, this could occur only if there was a change in intervention and the objectives were formally reviewed for progress.