Free Therapist Training›Family Therapy Toolkit›Treatment Plan
Last updated: November 11, 2026
A family therapy treatment plan sets out what a family is working on, how you and the family will know it is changing, and what you will do to help. It differs from an individual plan in its starting point: the problem is described as a pattern among family members rather than as one person's symptom, and the goals belong to the family, even when a payer requires a diagnosis for one member.
The template below has a header, a goals and objectives table, and signatures, and a completed plan for an invented family follows it. Under that, a table of example goals, objectives and measures covers nine common family problems. The template is part of the Sentio MFT program's free family therapy toolkit.
An optional template from the Sentio MFT program's family therapy toolkit, free to adapt.
Download the PDFCopy in Google Docs
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Record; member named for billing | |
| Participants | Who is in treatment, and who takes part as a collateral |
| Problem, in systemic terms | The sequence or pattern that keeps the problem going, in one or two sentences |
| Each member's goal, in their words | |
| Diagnosis, if a payer requires one | For the member named for billing |
| Plan date; review date |
| Goal | Objective: what will happen, observably, by when | Interventions | Measure | Who | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signatures | Entry |
|---|---|
| Each adult in treatment | |
| A minor 12 or older consenting to their own treatment | |
| Therapist and supervisor |
Family Therapy Treatment Plan Example
The plan below was written with the Hale-Carter family, the invented blended family used throughout the toolkit, after three sessions. Its problem statement comes from the structural map, and Ava added the fourth goal herself.
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Record; member named for billing | Hale-Carter family record; Ava Carter |
| Participants | Jenna Hale, Chris Hale, Ava Carter, Ben Carter. Tyler Hale and Mark Carter as collaterals. |
| Problem, in systemic terms | When Chris sets an evening limit, Ava appeals to Jenna, Jenna reverses the limit, and Chris withdraws and later explodes. The cycle began in September, a month after Jenna started night shifts, and Ava's school attendance has fallen with it. |
| Each member's goal | Jenna: "Peace in the evenings." Chris: "To be treated like a parent." Ava: "For Chris to back off." Ben: "Less yelling." |
| Diagnosis, if a payer requires one | Ava Carter: the diagnosis from her intake assessment, recorded as the health plan requires |
| Plan date; review date | October 29, 2026; review December 10, 2026 |
| Goal | Objective | Interventions | Measure | Who | Target date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jenna and Chris parent as a team | 1a. Agree on three evening rules and present them to the children together | Enactments in session; boundary making | Rules written and presented | Jenna, Chris | November 20 |
| 1b. Back each other's limits: no reversals in front of the children for four straight weeks | Tracking; coaching between sessions | Family log of reversals | Jenna, Chris | December 10 | |
| 2. Fewer and shorter escalations | 2a. Escalations fall from six a week at intake to two or fewer | Interrupting sequences in session; time-out plan | Family escalation log | All | December 10 |
| 2b. Each member names one step they will take when an argument starts, and uses it | Circular questions; rehearsal in session | Self-report at each session | All | November 19 | |
| 3. Ava returns to regular attendance | 3a. Ava attends first period at least four days a week | Coordination with the school counselor (release on file) | School attendance record | Ava, Jenna | December 10 |
| 4. Chris and Ava build a relationship | 4a. One shared activity a week that Ava chooses | Assignment; reframing Chris's role | Self-report | Chris, Ava | Ongoing |
Signed by Jenna Hale and Chris Hale on October 29, 2026. Ava reviewed the plan and added goal 4.
Family Therapy Treatment Plan Goals and Objectives
The examples below show goals, objectives and measures for problems family therapists see often. The numbers illustrate rather than set a standard: choose targets with the family, from where they are now.
| Presenting problem | Example goal | Example objective | Example measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent and adolescent conflict | Parents and teen settle disagreements without escalation | Two or fewer escalations a week for four weeks | Family log |
| Stepfamily adjustment | Stepparent and stepchild build a relationship before discipline | One shared activity a week the child chooses | Self-report |
| Coparenting after divorce | Parents in two homes agree on core rules | Written agreement on bedtime, screens and homework | Agreement on file; reported reversals |
| Child behavior problems | Parents respond consistently to the target behavior | Both parents use the agreed response at least 80% of the time | Parent tracking sheet |
| Grief after a death | The family can talk about the loss together | One family conversation about the person who died, with each member taking part | Session observation |
| Communication | Members speak directly rather than through a third person | Requests made directly in session without a go-between | Session observation |
| School refusal | The child returns to regular attendance | Attendance at least four days a week for a month | School records |
| Substance use in the family | The family responds to use in agreed ways | A written family response plan, reviewed monthly | Plan on file; self-report |
| Couple conflict with children involved | Children are kept out of adult disputes | No adult arguments in front of the children for four weeks | Self-report; children's report |
How to Write a Systemic Problem Statement
Start from the sequence, not the symptom. Describe who does what, who responds and what happens next, in one or two sentences, and say when the pattern began if that is known. "Ava is defiant" places the problem in one person. "When Chris sets an evening limit, Ava appeals to Jenna, Jenna reverses the limit, and Chris withdraws and later explodes" describes a pattern that each member takes part in and each can change. A genogram, an ecomap and a structural map, drawn in the first sessions, usually supply the material.
Writing Measurable Objectives for a Family
A goal names the change the family wants; an objective names something observable that shows the change is happening. Write each objective so that someone outside the room could check it: what will happen, how often or how much, measured how, by whom, and by when. A useful check is whether each objective is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, the familiar SMART criteria.
Family objectives can be measured in several ways: a log the family keeps between sessions, such as the number of escalations a week; records from outside, such as school attendance; what you observe in session, such as whether parents negotiate directly; and standardized measures of family functioning whose owners allow clinical use, such as the SCORE-15 (Stratton et al., 2010), which its publisher, the Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy, offers as a free evaluation tool. Pick one measure per objective that the family can collect without much effort, and review it at every session. Alexandre Vaz's free case formulation and treatment planning webinar covers how to move from formulation to plan.
Reviewing the Plan With the Family
Set a review date when you write the plan, and review it with everyone who signed it. Ask each member what has changed, look at the measures together, and revise objectives that have been met or that no longer fit. Follow the review schedule your setting or payer requires, and redraw the genogram, ecomap or structural map when the family's organization has changed enough that the old map no longer describes it.
Practice next: holding boundaries
Most family plans include a goal about the adults working together, and the therapist supports that goal in every session by keeping the parents' conversation between the parents.
Watch episode 14: Systemic BoundariesSystemic therapy pagePractice set in the toolkit
Rehearse the boundary statements in the toolkit's practice set, then rehearse coaching two parents through a short negotiation while a child waits.
Keep reading
Structural Family Therapy Mapping, where the problem statement and the goal map come from
Family Therapy Progress Note Template, recording progress against each goal
Case Formulation and Treatment Planning, a free webinar with Alexandre Vaz
Free Family Therapy Toolkit, all eight templates on one page
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of family therapy goals?
Common family therapy goals include parents agreeing on rules and backing each other, fewer and shorter escalations, a child returning to regular school attendance, a stepparent and stepchild building a relationship, children being kept out of adult disputes, and family members speaking to each other directly rather than through a third person.
What is the difference between a goal and an objective in a treatment plan?
A goal names the change the family wants, such as fewer arguments. An objective names something observable that shows the change, with a measure and a date, such as two or fewer escalations a week for four weeks, recorded in a family log.
How do you measure progress in family therapy?
With a log the family keeps between sessions, records from outside such as school attendance, observation of the family's interaction in session, and standardized measures of family functioning whose owners allow clinical use. Choose one measure per objective and review it at each session.
Does a family treatment plan need a diagnosis?
Only if a payer or your setting requires one, and then for the member whose condition the family sessions treat. The plan's problem statement and goals can still describe the family's pattern.
How often should a family treatment plan be reviewed?
Set a review date when you write the plan and follow the schedule your setting or payer requires. Review it with everyone who signed it, look at the measures together, and revise objectives that have been met or no longer fit.
References
Stratton, P., Bland, J., Janes, E., & Lask, J. (2010). Developing an indicator of family function and a practicable outcome measure for systemic family and couple therapy: The SCORE. Journal of Family Therapy, 32(3), 232–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6427.2010.00507.x
