Goal Setting, Behavior

Modification and Maintaining

Motivation
by

Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LMHC, CRC, NCC

43 slides at approximately 11 minutes each= 480 minutes or 8

hours of instruction
Objectives

The student will learn about:

 How to elicit goals and convert them into observable, measurable
goal statements
 The goal heirarchy: Goal-Objective-Skills
 How to use the 5 Ws to create a functional action plan
 The basic principles of behavior modification and how to apply
them to help clients achieve goals
 How to help clients achieve goals through successive
approximations
Objectives Cont...

 The three dimensions of motivation and how to use all three to

support clients
 How to identify and overcome barriers to goal achievement
 The different types of learning styles and how to most
effectively teach both to an individual and a mixed group
 How temperament impacts learning and motivation
 How to modify your approach to accommodate learning styles
and temperaments
 Ways to modify the environment to increase energy and
motivation
Common Questions

 Common questions heard by counselors

 I want to be happier
 I want to be healthier
 I want to improve my relationships
 What other questions do you often hear?
Activity

 Identify why you as a counselor need to help

your clients with goal setting, behavior
modification and maintaining motivation
Why Do I Care

 Aerobics/Group Fitness Instructors and Counselors

are often an integral part of behavior management
goals
 Even if you are not answering questions, it is your job to
keep people motivated and confident they can meet their
goals.
 It is important to help class members/clients learn
how to set their own goals
 Teach one “snippet” each session to help participants start
learning how to live a healthier life
Goal Hierarchy

 Goals
 Objectives (Small Goals/Why)
 Skills (How) & Knowledge (What/Why)
Goals

 Goals (WHY)
 Goals are the overarching reason a person begins
to do something.
 Often goals are broad and abstract. “I want to be
healthier.” “I want to be happy.”
 Goals need to be broken down into manageable,
meaningful, observable objectives
 Phrase goals as adding a positive instead of
removing a negative
Miracle Question

 Oneway to elicit goals is through the miracle

question
 If you woke up tomorrow and you were _____ (i.e.
your problem was resolved/goal was achieved),
what would be different?
 This gives you insight into the foundations of
this particular persons symptoms/definition of
the problem
Activity

 Brainstorm the miracle question for

 Happier
 Healthier
 In Shape
Goals

 Objectives need to be put into measurable terms.

 What does having a “better social life” mean to her?
 How will she know when she feels better about herself?
 How much weight does she want to lose?
Often you can measure abstract
concepts with
 Frequency
 A better social life might mean going out at least once a
week, or calling a friend once a day
 Feeling better about herself might be measured in terms
of frequency of negative self statements or degree of
anxiety about social situations
 Intensity
 Related Behaviors
 Likert Scale
Activity
 Write each of the following “goals” on a piece
of paper:
 Lose weight
 Get in shape
 Feel better about myself
 Be happier
 Identifyat least 2 ways for each goal that tells
the person he or she has achieved that goal.
“How will you know when you are/have _____”
Objectives

 Objectives are small goals that can usually be

achieved in 1-3 months
 They combine to make the ultimate goal a
reality.
 For example, someone who wants to be “happy”
might want to have a better social life, to feel
better about herself, to lose some weight. . .
Skills & Knowledge

 If you believe that people do the best they can

with the tools they have at any given time,
then you understand that your client now
needs to learn how to change.
 Give a man a fish you feed him for a day,
teach him to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.
 Give your clients the knowledge to understand
what you are doing and why
The Hook A.K.A. The 5 Ws

 Who is responsible for doing What, When,

Where, Why and How
 This is your client's action plan or map
 Who (your client)
 What are they responsible for doing when and
where
 Why are they doing it
 How is it helping them meet their ultimate goal
Client Responsibilities
 Thefollowing is a list of some of the things
your clients should be accountable for
 Prompt attendance
 Preparing for sessions (i.e. not coming in with a
hangover)
 Discussing with you what is and is not “working”
for them including environment and time.
 Although some exercises and interventions may be
perfectly valid, they will not work if the client will not do
them.
 Doing out of session assignments
Instructor/Trainer/Counselor
Responsibilities
 Your responsibilities include:
 Showing up on time
 Being prepared for sessions “Uhhh, wait a minute,
I know your file is around here somewhere...”
 Educating clients about the fundamentals of what
they are doing and why
 Helping clients find solutions/overcome resistance
Behavior Modification

 Behavior
 an observable, measurable event
 Reinforcer
 something that increases the frequency of a
behavior
 Reinforcing
 a quality that ensures the repetition of a behavior
Activity
 How can you incorporate reinforcers into your
group classes
 What about for individual students
Behavior Modification Cont...
 Punishment
 something that decreases the frequency of a
behavior
 Punishing
 a quality that ensures the reduction of a behavior
 Contingency
 If x then y
 Remind you students of the rewards for doing x---
Activity
 How can you use contingencies in your class/sessions
 If you do X (squats) now, you will get benefit Y (increased definition in
your lower body)
 If everybody works hard through this song, I'll give you an additional,
optional 2 minutes of recovery
 If you keep your next 6 appointments, we can discuss ending your
program
 If you keep getting out of bed and going on a walk each day you will
start to see some improvements in your sleep and mood

 What are the Ys your class members/clients are concerned

about?
Activity

 Identify three “positive” behaviors and three

“negative” behaviors
 Identify the reinforcers for each
 What about something like depression or obesity?
 List
1 or 2 ways you can eliminate each
negative behavior
 Identify things which might be preventing those
behaviors
POINTS

 We only do things in which the reinforcers

(positive) outweigh the punishments
(negative).
 It is vital not only to ask why a person wants to
change, but also why he/she does not want to
change
 I want to increase my motivation.
 Why are you not motivated now? (Obstacles)
 What would help motivate you? (Reinforcers)
Activity

 Give anonymous case examples of clients you

have had who professed they wanted to
change, but would not follow through.
 Discuss the whys and why nots of change for
each
Baby Steps
 Successive Approximations
 Rewarding attempts at the behavior, while gradually
increasing the criteria for reward

 This is also accomplished by showing varying levels of the

same exercise (Think group fitness videos)
Fitness Counseling
Showing up for class Remembering you had an assignment
Completing half of the class Partially completing the assignment
Completing the whole class Completing the whole assignment
Completing the whole class with 100% Thoroughly completing the assignment
effort
Activity

 Breakinto groups and create successive

approximations for the following goals:
 Working out three days a week
 Stopping smoking
 Reducing anger outbursts to less than one per
month
More Behavior Modification
 Competing behaviors/responses
 positive behaviors that can be done instead of
negative behaviors
 Better to reward competing responses than punish
negative behaviors
 Premack principle
 Pairing rewards with behaviors you would rather
not do. (i.e. watching television while running)
Activity

 Identify
competing responses for the following
behaviors
 Bingeing
 Smoking
 Fighting/Screaming
 Sleeping all day every day
Still more...
 Behavior Strain
 too much punishment/work without sufficient
reward
Using Behavior Modification

 Goal: I want to be healthier

 Objective: I want to improve my physical fitness by
30%
 First identify things your clients enjoy that they can
do to reach this goal (reinforcing activities)
 Then make those things reasonable. Do not have
a couch potato start hiking 5 miles per day. Start
with a 20 minute walk then gradually increase the
time and speed. (successive approximations)
A Spoon Full of Sugar

 Okay, in the pursuit of any goal we all have to

do things we do not really care for. Make
those things as painless as possible by:
 Combining them with something the clients like
(Premack Principle)
 Providing a reward for successful completion of
the behavior

 Think about your own behaviors---things you like to do

and how you cajole yourself to do things you don't like
Treatment/Action Plan Activity
 Write one of the most common reasons people
come to see you
 Turn that into an observable/measurable goal
 Break the goal into 3-5 objectives that clearly state
the 5 Ws
 What is to be done
 Who will do it
 When will it be done
 Why will it be done
 Where will it be done
 How (if applicable)
Motivation

 Multidimensional
 Emotional—I want to
 Intellectual-- I need to
 Behavioral-- I am
Maintaining Emotional
Motivation
 Keep a running anonymous list on poser board
in the front of class of the goals of class
members.
 Have them submit goals to you (anonymously if
they want) of their goals for class/reasons for
coming
 List10 reasons you want to _________ and
review them daily
 Create a collage of all of the reasons you want
to __________
Emotional Motivation cont…
 Keep a journal of how things change
positively for you as you ___________
 Make a list of disputes for your most frequent
cop-outs
 Tell three people about your goal
Maintaining Intellectual
Motivation
 List 10 reasons you need to
_______________
 Keep written information available that
highlights the benefits of your class/activities
 Have clients research how exercise can help
their physical and mental health problems
 List 10 reasons you know you can
 Set an end date for each objective
Maintaining Behavioral
Motivation
 Identify
all of the obstacles to accomplishing
your goal and find solutions
 Won't go to the gym after dinner
 Childcare issues
 Too far to travel
 Bad weather
 Gym too busy
 Too tired to cook
 Too much other stuff to do
 No time
Maintaining Behavioral
Motivation
 Buddy-Up
 Encourage people with similar goals to support
each other in and out of group/class
Time Management

 Identify
 Eliminate
 Delegate
 Prioritize/combine
Child Care

 For many clients, this will affect compliance.

 Brainstorm ways to accommodate this...
Rewards

 Rewards maintain behavior, but they must be

of sufficient frequency, intensity and duration.
 Small-daily ---”Great job in class/group today!”
“Glad to see you here today”
 Medium-weekly or monthly/objective
accomplishment-- Person gets to choose
music/particular activity
 Large-goal accomplishment-- Certificate of
Achievement, Recognition in class???
Learning Styles

 Global/Sequential
 Auditory/Visual/Kinesthetic
Activity

 Break into groups of 4 to 6

 I am assigning each group a learning style
 Brainstorm ways you can help your clients
who have that learning style
Temperament

 http:keirsey.com
 Extrovert/Introvert
 Sensing(details)/Intuitive(big picture)
 Thinking(“Rational”)/Feeling(“Emotional”)
 Caution: Thinkers do not experience anything less
intensely than Feelers. They just do it differently.
 Judging(structured)/Perceiving(flexible)
Activity

 Reviewyour Treatment/Action Plan Activity

 What might you do differently for
 Extroverts vs. Introverts
 Sensing vs. Intuitive (Think about teaching a
routine)
 Judging vs. Perceiving
 Class structure
 Substitutes
Music

 Tempo
 Words/Meaning
 Mood
 Calming
 Cathartic
 Energizing
 Depressing
 Combination
•Activity

 Listento various snippets and identify

motivation/activities you would do
Environmental Motivators
 Lighting/Color
 Sunlight Spectrum vs. Traditional Flourescent
 Reds
 Earth Tones (Yellows, Browns)
 Blues/Greens
 Whites
 Murals/Pictures
 Smell
 Stinky: Exhaust fans are helpful
 Allergies
 Aromatherapy towels
 Space
 Temperature
 Try to maintain about the same temperature from
week to week
 Have fans available for pregnant or heat sensitive
people
Review

 Goal setting
 Behavior Modification Principles
 Learning Style
 Temperament
 Three Types of Motivation
 Environmental Motivators