Page 113 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

CASE ANALYSIS 6

How would you discuss any obstacles Mr. Howard sees to reaching the goals?

Step 4: Goal Implementation

In the final step in the intervention process, clients can discuss what specific action steps they plan to take to
reach the goals.18,19 For example, the goal of using low-sodium seasonings may require identifying and
purchasing them, acquiring new recipes for using them, and modifying favorite recipes to replace salt.

CASE ANALYSIS 7

What are some possible steps Mr. Howard could take to reach his goals? What key discussion points would
you identify?

Goals for change are developed.

By selecting a level of performance, people create their own incentives to persist in their efforts until they
match the standards of the goals. Clients compare results against the goals continually so that they know
when they are succeeding. The personal standards against which performance attainments are compared affect
how much self-satisfaction or self-efficacy the client derives from the goal. Feedback on progress is provided
by mental comparison with the goal and a self-evaluation. Clients’ active participation in selecting and setting
goals for diet and physical exercise resulted in successful outcomes.20 The counselor should also provide
positive feedback no matter how small the change.

The attainment of short-term goals builds motivation, competencies, interest, and self-perceptions of
efficacy. Motivational effects do not derive from the goals themselves, but from accomplishing them. When
individuals commit themselves to goals, negative discrepancies between what they are doing and what they
seek to achieve create self-dissatisfactions that may serve as incentives motivating enhanced effort.

Without standards against which to measure performance, people have little basis for judging how well they
are doing, nor do they have a basis for judging their capabilities. Short-term attainments increase self-efficacy,

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