Hey there readers! I took a short break from writing in order to head to my mom's place for some good, old-fashioned Thanksgiving family togetherness. I may never be hungry again. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend yourselves! Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Potential clients or other therapists often ask me what my theoretical orientation is to psychotherapy. I often find it somewhat difficult to answer this question because I don't consider myself to be beholden to one style of therapy over another. It's been my experience that different people respond to different approaches and therefore no one is better than another. However, I will say that I have a specific perspective from which I approach different psychotherapy styles. It's called the Strengths-Based Perspective (a radical departure from our very deficit-based society). The strengths-based perspective seeks to locate a client's strengths and build upon them to create solutions to problems. Strengths-based practice uses empowerment language in order to help a client reframe his or her perception of problems. This reframing attempts to encourage in a client a positive assessment of his or her inherent and unique abilities to understand, process, and solve their problems.
Typical of my eclectic brand of therapy and perhaps a bit more Psychodynamically leaning, I think there has to be at least some "problem" talk in therapy. It is an honor and a privilege to be a therapist - to be given so much trust and to be allowed into someone's deepest, darkest, most private thoughts.
Clients often come to therapy, not just to create solutions, but also to be heard. It does a disservice to clients not to give them an empathetic ear and validate their pain. And then, throughout the process of engagement and assessment with a client, there comes a point at which you begin to focus on what the client and therapist can do to create positive change.
In therapy recently, I've been intrigued by the use of Solution-Focused Therapy, a theory of therapy created by Insoo Kim Berg and her husband, Steve de Shazer. Solution-focused therapy (SFT) appeals to me because it seems to focus on what a client can proactively do to solve their own problems and promotes a sense of hope in clients. For example, there's this really cool thing called the "Miracle Question" in SFT. It basically goes like this:
Me: Imagine that overnight, while you were sleeping, a miracle occurred. All of the problems for which you've been coming to see me in therapy have suddenly disappeared!
At this time, you will often see a dawning brightness on your client's face, something you may not have seen in all your therapy sessions.
Me: But, noone has told you that this miracle occurred. How are you going to figure out that your problems are gone? What are the first small things you will notice about your environment that will clue you in to the fantastic surprise?
Usually your client will have a look of consternation by now, and may have a tough time answering you. But patience and gentle, drawing out questions will usually provide some workable answers, for example...
Client: Well, I'm not sure. That's a hard question. Maybe I would all of a sudden wake up to a husband and three children in a beautiful house in the country!
Me: That sounds wonderful! But let's think even smaller, what other little things might you notice?
Client: Umm, I guess I might notice a pair of well-worn sneakers?
Me: Hmm, what do you mean by that?
Client: Well, the sneakers would tell me that I've actually been leaving the house and getting some exercise.
Me: What does getting exercise mean to you? How would it make a difference in your life? etc etc etc.
If all of your discussions in past sessions have been about your client's problems, you may not have ever landed on the fact that she seems to value physical exercise and that she equates mental health with physical health. This little bit of insight set in a situation that inspires hope and happiness, might be a first step to creating workable solutions to a client's problems. Sometimes working directly on the sources of depression or anxiety can be too overwhelming for a client and it becomes necessary to lighten the load. In these cases, creating small changes in a client's environment can lead to a sense of self-efficacy and positive change, which in turn builds a client's ego strength to a level at which they can begin to approach more painful topics in their recovery.
Go ahead, try it out!
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