A Case Study Using the "Problems and Goals Approach" in a Coordinated Care Trial: SA HealthPlus

Abstract

The problems and goals approach (P&G) is a therapeutic assessment and intervention used in the behavioural psychotherapy field. P&G is a patient-centred, pragmatic technique in which the patient and health professional determine the patient?s problems and formulate realistic medium term goals based on measurable outcomes. P&G was utilised in the SA HealthPlus first round Coordinated Care Trial in South Australia with intervention patients who had chronic medical conditions. This article presents a case study from SA HealthPlus. The aim of this article is to introduce the practical workings of P&G and provide some observations about this technique.