Goal Setting and Motivation in Therapy
Engaging Children and Parents
Drawing together motivational theory, research-based evidence and guidance for best practice, this book presents innovative models for goal-setting and goal pursuit in therapy with children.
Setting goals not only allows children, and their families, to engage with the overall therapeutic process, but it also provides an essential motivational element throughout the entire therapeutic process. The editors and contributors give practical advice on empathically collaborating with the child and his or her family, to clearly identify achievable goals that can be wholeheartedly pursued. Key information on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is accessibly explained, which will aid professional understanding of the relationship between motivation, goal-setting, and strong therapeutic practice. The approaches in this book can be used by a wide range of professionals, including those who specialise in working with children with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and emotional and behavioural difficulties.
The combination of theory, research and practical advice makes this book an essential resource for professionals working therapeutically with children, including occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers, arts therapists and psychotherapists.
The essays collected in this volume helpfully guide professionals to be better able to support these basic needs, articulating in practical terms the component skills and attitudes required to facilitate children's Autonomy, Relatedness and Competence in treatment settings. Building on strong empirical findings and an increasingly rich clinical literature in SDT and related approaches, these chapters provide steady scaffoldings on which practitioners' competence and creativity can ascend.– from the foreword by Richard M. Ryan, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University
Anne A. Poulsen is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on motivation, self-concept and life satisfaction.
Jenny Ziviani is Professor of Children's Allied Health Research, a joint appointment between the University of Queensland, and Children's Health Queensland. She is an occupational therapist and allied health researcher with a focus on child health, family centred practice and motivational aspects of interventions.
Monica Cuskelly is Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Queensland. She is a psychologist with particular interest in education and developmental psychology. Her research focuses on cognitive development, mastery, motivation and self-regulation in vulnerable populations, particularly individuals with learning disabilities, and on the experiences of families with a child with a disability.