What activity helps in forming short and long-term goals in the context of social work?

Setting short and long-term goals is an essential component of effective social work practice. This process is fundamentally tied to the planning stage. During planning, social workers collaborate with clients to identify their needs and aspirations, translating these into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. This structured approach ensures that the goals align with the client's values and circumstances, providing a clear roadmap for intervention.

In addition to goal setting, planning also encompasses the development of strategies and resources needed to achieve those goals, integrating both immediate and long-range perspectives. By focusing on planning, social workers can engage clients in a meaningful way, promoting self-efficacy and empowerment as they work towards their desired outcomes. This ultimately leads to a more tailored and effective course of action in addressing clients' needs.

While assessment, engagement, and implementation are also important stages in the social work process, they serve different purposes. Assessment focuses on gathering information to understand the client's situation, engagement is about building a rapport and establishing trust, and implementation involves carrying out the strategies designed during the planning phase. Thus, planning is the pivotal stage that directly facilitates the establishment of both short and long-term goals in social work.