Practice management
Directive Assignment Design Template
Design a between-session task before you assign it, not while you're assigning it.
Haley was explicit: the therapist who assigns a directive without a clear rationale will not be believed, and a directive that is not believed will not be done. This template walks you through the decisions before the session so that when you offer the assignment, the framing is ready.
The goal is a task the client will actually carry out — specific enough to be real, open-ended enough to allow something unexpected to surface.
Directive Assignment Design Template
Client (initials or identifier): Session this will be introduced:
Stage assessment
Where is this client in the work right now?
( ) Has not spoken about the trauma directly
( ) Has approached it obliquely (third person, metaphor, implication)
( ) Has made a partial disclosure but withdrawn
( ) Has disclosed but cannot yet organize the experience in narrative
Assignment format
Choose one format that fits where this client is:
( ) The unsent letter — written to whoever cannot be spoken to directly
( ) The drawn timeline — no words required, sequence only
( ) The object description — describe in writing an object that stands for what cannot be said yet
( ) Free choice — client decides the format
Why this format for this client?
Instructions you will give the client
Write out the exact instructions as you will say them aloud. Keep them short. Include the low-stakes permission.
The low-stakes phrase (include this verbatim or adapt it): “You don’t have to share it with me unless you want to. Bring it to the next session — sealed, unread by me, however you like.”
How you will introduce it in session
What is the rationale you will offer? (One sentence — enough to make it feel purposeful, not enough to over-explain it.)
Approximate timing in the session:
( ) Last 10 minutes ( ) After a relevant moment ( ) Opening of session
What to look for when the client returns
Did they do it?
( ) If yes — how do they carry it in? (body language, affect, how they mention it)
( ) If no — what did they do instead, or what stopped them?
Questions to ask (write 2–3 before the session, choose one in the room):
What this reveals
After the session, note what the client’s relationship to the assignment told you about their readiness:
Next step based on this:
Generated with Rapport7 — rapport7.com