title: Diagnostic reasoning and treatment planning: II. Treatment.
abstract: The concepts of therapy-oriented and problem-oriented plans are discussed and their advantages and disadvantages considered. Goal-directed planning is proposed as an alternative to intuitive decision making. Goal-directed planning involves the abstraction of pivotal problems from a diagnostic formulation, the restatement of problems as goals, the selection of appropriate therapy, the designation of a target date, the stipulation of objectives, the selection of methods of evaluation and the monitoring of progress. Systematic goal-directed planning fosters teamwork, promotes accountability, obviates therapeutic drift and enhances outcome evaluation. Its chief disadvantage is its unfamiliarity.
mesh_terms: D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008501:Medical Records, Problem-Oriented; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000639:trends; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods