1. Module 7 Setting goals and overcoming challenges to self care
Self Care Training
Module 7
Setting goals and overcoming challenges to self care

2. Module 7 outcomes On completion of this module learners will:
Understand how to set goals with individual people to support their self care
Recognise the importance of planning, monitoring and reviewing goals to support a person to achieve positive results
Appreciate the effects of low self confidence and motivation and support individual people to overcome these challenges
7.1

3. What is a goal? Having goals means we want to achieve something
It is a positive way to focus on the future
Goals are easier to reach if they are realistic and achievable!
Reaching goals can make a person feel…
Happy
Confident
In Control
7.2

4. How to set goals with individuals
In order to set achievable goals with each person you support it is
important to 1
Find out what they want to do? 2
Plan how to reach the goals 3
Review the goals
7.3

5. 1. Find out what they want to do
A good place to start is to use your ICE tool
Read and discuss the ‘individual support plan’ with them
Get to know the person’s likes and dislikes and their interests
Take time to get to know the person’s routines
Ask them directly –
‘What would you like to do?’
7.4

6. What goals might individual people set to improve their self care?
Group discussion
What goals might individual people set to improve their self care?
What would you like to do ?
7.5

7. Examples of goals Physical goals Social goals Emotional goals
Being able to wash and dress independently
Being able to get in and out of bed independently
Being able to make own breakfast
Social goals
Being able to join a local support group
Being able to meet up with family and friends
Being able to go to the park, and feed the birds
Emotional goals
Being able to paint own bedroom a nice bright colour
Being able to talk to someone “about how I feel”
Being able to talk to family and friends more on the telephone
Health goals
Being able to learn more “about my Parkinson’s”
Being able to eat a healthier diet
Being able to do more exercise
7.6

8. 2. Planning how to reach goals
1. Write down what individuals say they want – Use the individual support plan to log all the goals
2. How important is the goal? – Is the person really motivated to achieve their goals, do they understand the differences they will make to their lives?
3. Who and what is needed to support the goal? – Has the person got the resources to meet their goals or will they need support in finding them?
4. Break the goal down into small achievable steps – “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, take time to build confidence and motivation
5. Plan a date to reach the goal – Use the individual support plan to log the date the goal should be achieved
7.7

9. 3. Review the goals
Ask the person how they are getting on and update their individual support plan
Reviewing may highlight challenges to reaching goals
Reviewing may highlight achievements
Provide regular feedback to the person – to motivate them further with their goals!
7.8

10. Challenges to self care
A person may be reluctant to set new goals and become active and
involved in their self care
As new types of workers you will need to support individual people to
overcome:
Low self confidence
Lack of motivation to self care
7.9

11. What is confidence?
Confidence is about having belief in your abilities, sureness that you
can achieve something and be in control of it
Individuals may be very confident to become involved in their self care
Individuals may not be very confident at all and wish to stick to their usual routines
+10
-10
7.10

12. Why individuals may lose confidence
Lack of practice – when a person doesn’t do something for a while, they
may begin to lose the skills they once had to do it on their own!
Bereavement – Can leave a person feeling ‘detached’ and not
wanting to focus on their own self care
Recent fall – This may lead a person to be anxious and to ‘avoid’ doing
things so that they don’t fall again
Physical changes – The symptoms of long term conditions may bring ‘visible’ changes for individuals
Incontinence – This can bring feelings of embarrassment and loss of confidence
Isolation – Without regular contact individuals may lose ‘social confidence’
Long term conditions – A person may be in the ‘grief cycle’ and lose all
confidence to learn new skills and set new goals in self care
7.11

13. Group discussions
How would you know if a person lacks self confidence?
What are the signs you would pick up on?
7.12

14. The signs of low self confidence
Negative most of the time – ‘Oh I can’t cope with using technology, oh no that’s not me at all’
Expect the worse to happen – ‘I can’t go out I might get stuck on the pavement’
Anxious – People may become anxious when they undertake new activities
Worried all the time – Some people may not be able to keep things in a realistic perspective
They don’t feel in control of their lives – They may allow others to make decisions and control their lives
Not willing to try new things – Any suggestions to try new things are rejected
Have very set routines – Any thought of change can upset them
Choose new goals but don’t see them through into action when the time comes!
7.13

15. Supporting confidence
Use your ICE tool
Take your time
Focus on ‘abilities’
Encourage the person
Support new choices
Involve individuals in planning new goals
Break down the goal into small steps
Encourage the person to ‘be in charge’
Celebrate all achievements – no matter how small
7.14

16. What is motivation?
Motivation is about the person’s ‘want’ to do something – it is their inner drive to achieve an activity. When a person is motivated they are willing to focus on an activity and put energy towards achieving the goal.
7.15

17. Why people lose motivation
Raising expectations:
An expectation can be thought of as giving someone hope, that
something will happen for them, that they will achieve a positive result
or get something that they want.
It can be very easy to raise people’s expectations without realising it
Offering to set too many goals – too quickly
Making promises that you can’t keep!
Not meeting people’s expectations can lead them
to lose trust and motivation to set new goals!
7.16

18. What can affect people’s motivations?
Symptoms of long term conditions – I don't know enough about my long term condition to be setting goals.
Depression – I’m just not interested
Low self confidence – I don’t believe I can do it – How can you help me?
Their environment – Take a look around me – what do I see every day – will this motivate me?
Personal beliefs – I am getting too old for all of this – and I don't think it would work for me
Inherent motivation – I have never done much – so why should I now?
7.17

19. Motivating people to self care
Set realistic expectations – don't make promises and give people hope if you are not 100% sure you can deliver on them!
Build person-centred partnerships – Learn as much about the people you support as possible – why are their choices so important to them?
Set achievable goals – Start off with small steps, and focus on one key area – small successes will motivate the person further
Plan how to achieve them – Involve the person in planning, if they can ‘see’ how it may work – they may feel better about it!
See goals through – You will support many people so always ‘track’ your progress to achieving goals
Focus on positives – Always focus on the ‘positive’ and tell people about other success stories to further motivate them
Seek advice – If in doubt, always seek advice from your supervisor
7.18

20. Self Care Training Manual: Implementing the Common Core principles for Self Care
© Skills for Care, 2009.
Albion Court, 5 Albion Place, Leeds LS1 6JL.
All rights reserved.
This material may be reproduced for non-commercial distribution in aid of social care workforce development, provided the copyright notices and acknowledgements are included in each reproduction.
Requests for commercial publishing rights should be directed to Skills for Care.
Referencing:
Short reference: Skills for Care, 2009
Long reference: Skills for Care, Self Care Training Manual: Implementing the Common Core Principles for Self Care (Skills for Care, Leeds, 2009)
Acknowledgements:
This material was commissioned from jdee Training and Lancashire County Council by Skills for Care’s New Types of Worker programme in the north west. It was researched and compiled by Shaun Douglas Galley and Sarah Johnson.