GAD Treatment Planning: Goals, Ethics & Social Change
This case study paper presents a structured treatment plan for a client diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The plan is organized around short-term, mid-range, and long-term SMART goals spanning twelve weeks, incorporating psychoeducation, relaxation techniques, cognitive restructuring, and homework assignments. The paper also examines key ethical and legal considerations — including confidentiality, client autonomy, and cultural competence — that a clinician may encounter. Finally, it addresses the social and systemic barriers affecting the client's wellbeing, including lack of familial support, unemployment, and the stigma associated with sexual orientation in her cultural context, and proposes family-oriented social change strategies.
- Introduction and Diagnosis: GAD diagnosis rationale and treatment plan overview
- Short-Term SMART Goal: Psychoeducation (Weeks 1–3): Client education on GAD symptoms and avoidance
- Mid-Range SMART Goal: Relaxation and Calming Skills (Weeks 4–6): Relaxation techniques and daily homework assignments
- Long-Term SMART Goal: Cognitive Restructuring (Weeks 7–12): Challenging distorted self-talk and irrational fears
- Ethical and Legal Considerations: Confidentiality, autonomy, and cultural competence dilemmas
- Social Change Implications: Systemic barriers and family-centered change strategies
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What makes this paper effective
- The treatment plan is clearly structured around three progressive SMART goal tiers — short-term, mid-range, and long-term — giving the paper a logical clinical scaffold that mirrors real practice.
- The paper integrates peer-reviewed citations at each stage of the treatment plan, grounding clinical recommendations in evidence-based research rather than assertion alone.
- The ethical and social change sections move beyond clinical technique to address the whole person, demonstrating awareness of systemic, cultural, and relational factors that affect therapeutic outcomes.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates clinical case formulation — the ability to translate a diagnostic profile into a sequenced, actionable intervention plan while simultaneously attending to ethical constraints and social determinants of health. The writer shows how to link theoretical frameworks (e.g., cognitive restructuring, applied relaxation) to specific weekly techniques, illustrating applied rather than purely abstract academic reasoning.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief diagnostic rationale, then proceeds through three numbered treatment phases corresponding to short-, mid-, and long-term goals. Each phase identifies specific weekly techniques and supporting literature. Two final sections — ethical considerations and social change implications — broaden the analysis beyond the clinical encounter, addressing confidentiality, autonomy, cultural competence, and systemic barriers such as unemployment and family conflict. The references section follows APA format throughout.
Introduction and Diagnosis
After taking into consideration the presenting symptoms, a primary diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) was established. In basic terms, GAD, as Patriquin and Mathew (2017) point out, "is characterized by excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities (e.g., work, school performance, etc.), which an individual finds difficult to control" (p. 47). The relevance of treatment cannot be overstated, given that this condition significantly interferes with the daily functioning of the person diagnosed. It is on this basis that the treatment plan below has been developed.
Short-Term SMART Goal: Psychoeducation (Weeks 1–3)
Goal (Weeks 1–3): Ensure that the client comprehends the limiting aspects of GAD and is fully appreciative of the need to embrace the relevant treatment interventions and strategies.
Week 1: Discuss with the client her presenting symptoms and how they relate to GAD — specifically, worry deemed excessive as well as unfounded fears. Ensure that the client is also aware of the diverse manifestations of avoidance, hypervigilance, overarousal, and tension, and how these factors interact with one another.
Week 2: Explore the relevance of the various treatment strategies in addressing avoidance, anxiety, and worry symptoms. Highlight why treatment is instrumental in eliminating unnecessary avoidance, reducing overarousal, and managing worry effectively.
Week 3: Suggest that the client reads selected texts on her condition, the treatment options available, and the general outlook for recovery.
Mid-Range SMART Goal: Relaxation and Calming Skills (Weeks 4–6)
Goal (Weeks 4–6): Ensure that the client becomes familiar with, and is able to apply, the relevant calming skills to not only manage the symptoms of anxiety, but also minimize overall anxiety levels.
Weeks 4 & 5: Introduce the relevant relaxation skills to the client. These skills may include, but are not limited to, mindful breathing, cue-controlled relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, and applied relaxation. As Hayes-Skelton and Roemer (2013) indicate, these approaches have proven effective in the treatment of GAD.
Weeks 4, 5 & 6 (ongoing): After every session, assign the client homework with specific requirements to engage in relaxation exercises on a daily basis. This should involve a gradual application of the exercises — beginning with situations that do not provoke anxiety and then transitioning to situations that do.
Weeks 4, 5 & 6: Monitor progress and ensure that relevant, constructive feedback is provided on an ongoing basis.
References
Beard, C. (2011). Cognitive bias modification for anxiety: Current evidence and future directions. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 11(2), 299–311.
Glick, S. N., & Golden, M. R. (2010). Persistence of racial differences in attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 55(4), 516–523.
Hayes-Skelton, S. A., & Roemer, L. (2013). A contemporary view of applied relaxation for generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 42(4), 104–107.
Patriquin, M. A., & Mathew, S. J. (2017). The neurobiological mechanisms of generalized anxiety disorder and chronic stress. Chronic Stress, 1(3), 44–49.
Thomas, J. T., Jones, G., Scarinci, I., & Brantley, P. (2014). A descriptive and comparative study of the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in low-income adults with type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Diabetes Care, 26(8), 231–237.
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