Intervention
Session Anchor Template
Establish a session goal in the client's language before the hour begins, and track whether the session stayed anchored to it.
This worksheet helps therapists set and use a session anchor — a client-named goal established in the first five minutes that functions as a reference point for redirecting tangents and sprawl. Used consistently, it gives verbose sessions a shape the client and therapist can both return to.
Prepare the opening anchor language before the session. After the session, complete the tracking section to assess whether the anchor held and whether the session addressed what the client named as most important. Refine the anchor-setting approach across three to four sessions until it becomes part of the session’s opening routine.
Session Anchor Template
Client (initials or identifier): _______________ Session date: _______________ Session number: _______________
BEFORE THE SESSION
Opening language planned How will you invite the client to name a session goal? Write the specific phrasing you plan to use.
Backup anchor (if the client can’t name one) If the client says they have nothing specific, or launches into reporting before you can set the anchor, what will you use as a fallback?
DURING THE SESSION
The anchor as stated by the client What did the client name as most important for this session? Use their exact words.
How the anchor was introduced What phrasing did you use? Was it different from what you planned?
AFTER THE SESSION
Moments when the session departed from the anchor What topics came up that were off-anchor? At what point in the session?
How and whether the return to anchor was made What redirect did you use? When? Did it hold?
Whether the session addressed what the anchor named
- Yes — the session addressed the anchor topic substantively
- Partially — the anchor came up but wasn’t resolved
- No — the session moved away from the anchor and didn’t return
Anchor quality notes Was the anchor specific enough to return to, or too broad to function as a reference point? What would make the anchor more useful next session?
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