Planning is crucial in a Counseling session to ensure that time inside–and outside–therapy sessions is well spent, with the client achieving a successful outcome within specific time constraints. As a process, it is ongoing and shared between therapist and client, involving setting goals, establishing a treatment plan, and monitoring progress throughout therapy (Nelson-Jones, 2014). While vital to managing treatment, planning is also a skill clients can learn from and use to achieve more meaningful lives. This article explores the counseling planning process, introducing key concepts, strategies, and valuable examples along the way. Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.