Story-Centered Goal Builder

Because healing goals should mean something.

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🔹 Purpose: To help clinicians co-create goals with patients that go beyond “increase ROM” or “reduce pain,” and instead connect to the patient’s lived story, identity, and values.

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🔹 Why This Matters: Traditional goals often feel abstract or irrelevant to patients. But when goals are tied to who they are and what they care about, they fuel motivation and clarify direction. This tool helps you uncover those deeper drivers.

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🌀 How to Use: A 4-Step Guided Conversation

1. Anchor in Identity

“What matters to you outside this clinic?”

Examples:

▫️ Being active with kids

▫️ Gardening again

▫️ Returning to work

▫️ Feeling confident in your body

➡️ Write it down in their words.

2. Name the Barrier

“What’s getting in the way right now?”

Examples:

▫️ “I’m afraid to bend.”

▫️ “I feel like my body can’t be trusted.”

▫️ “Pain flares up when I try.”

➡️ Validate and clarify the real-life obstacle.

3. Define a Meaningful Outcome

“If we made real progress, what would life look like?”

Examples:

▫️ “I’d carry groceries without thinking about it.”

▫️ “I’d dance again.”

▫️ “I’d stop scheduling life around my back.”

➡️ Turn their answer into a concrete, observable goal.

4. Reframe into a Healing Statement

Use a structure like:

“I want to [reclaimed action] so I can [value-driven purpose]—and I’ll know I’m getting there when I can [concrete milestone].”

Example:

“I want to kneel in my garden again so I can feel like myself—and I’ll know I’m getting there when I can kneel for 5 minutes without bracing.”

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✅ Clinician Prompts to Support the Process

▫️ “What would feel like you again?”

▫️ “What have you been avoiding that you’d love to return to?”

▫️ “What would a good day look like for you?”

▫️ “Let’s build a goal around you, not just your knee.”

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🧠 Final Thought:

A goal that makes you feel something is a goal worth working toward.

This resource is part of The Wondering Clinician Toolkit. It’s not medical advice—just a tool to support learning, reflection, and healing. Always consult your clinician when needed.