What is the most appropriate long-term goal for a client with an anxiety disorder on the treatment planning team?

What is the most appropriate long-term goal for a client with an anxiety disorder on the treatment planning team?

• A. Apply alternative techniques to deal with stress within two months.
• B. Improve verbal communications skills within six months.
• C. Be free of anxiety within one year.
• D. Increase awareness of stressors within four months.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that long-term treatment goals for anxiety focus on turning knowledge into practiced, reliable coping. Teaching the client to apply alternative techniques to deal with stress within two months shows the actual use of skills in real-life situations, not just learning or awareness. It demonstrates progress toward manageable functioning, which is what long-term planning aims for: the client can carry these strategies forward beyond treatment and adapt them as stressors change. Why this fits best: it links skill development with observable, actionable behavior. It’s concrete, time-bounded, and measurable—you can assess whether the client is consistently using alternative stress-management techniques in daily life, which reflects real-world coping. Why the other options are less fitting as the primary long-term goal: improving verbal communication within six months might be important for certain anxiety presentations (like social anxiety), but it’s not directly about managing anxiety itself and is more of a specific skill area rather than a broad coping outcome. Being free of anxiety within one year is often unrealistic and overlooks the goal of improving functioning and coping rather than demanding complete symptom elimination. Increasing awareness of stressors within four months is an essential early step, but it doesn’t show the client applying or sustaining coping strategies; it’s a step toward the goal, not the end goal itself.

The main idea here is that long-term treatment goals for anxiety focus on turning knowledge into practiced, reliable coping. Teaching the client to apply alternative techniques to deal with stress within two months shows the actual use of skills in real-life situations, not just learning or awareness. It demonstrates progress toward manageable functioning, which is what long-term planning aims for: the client can carry these strategies forward beyond treatment and adapt them as stressors change.

Why this fits best: it links skill development with observable, actionable behavior. It’s concrete, time-bounded, and measurable—you can assess whether the client is consistently using alternative stress-management techniques in daily life, which reflects real-world coping.

Why the other options are less fitting as the primary long-term goal: improving verbal communication within six months might be important for certain anxiety presentations (like social anxiety), but it’s not directly about managing anxiety itself and is more of a specific skill area rather than a broad coping outcome. Being free of anxiety within one year is often unrealistic and overlooks the goal of improving functioning and coping rather than demanding complete symptom elimination. Increasing awareness of stressors within four months is an essential early step, but it doesn’t show the client applying or sustaining coping strategies; it’s a step toward the goal, not the end goal itself.