Chapter 5 Brief Counseling: Solution-Focused and Paradoxical Counseling Strategies If you want truly to understand something, try to change it. Kurt Lewin Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF COUNSELING (SFBC) Nature of People People are free to make choices and are not victims of their genetics or environment. People are basically good. People are basically rational. People respond better to a present and future counseling orientation. People have the ability to work through their own problems. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Bruce’s Components of SFBC Develop a working alliance to attack the problem. Identify clients’ strengths as a foundation for confidence in their abilities to make positive changes. Implement active, eclectic counseling strategies and interventions. Establish clear, concrete, measurable goals in order to evaluate progress. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Bruce’s SFBC Intervention Tasks “Do something different.” “Pay attention to what you do when you overcome the urge to …..” for the client who has trouble controlling impulsive behaviors. “Tell me about a time when you had a good day at ____ ” for clients who have taken on the victim mentality of believing that nothing good ever happens to them. “Observe and take notes” for clients who have trouble avoiding problem situations and interactions. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Counseling Method Orientation: Clarify the SFBC counseling process. Setting Goals: heart of counseling including statement of the problem: The problem. The feelings associated with the problem. The intensity of those feelings on a 1 to 10 scale. The client’s expectations of what the client would like to have happen in counseling and the goals the client would like to accomplish. Active Listening Scaling: “Where are you on a scale of 1 to 10?” Working with positive and negative goals. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Setting Counseling Goals Goals owned or set by the client work best. If clients need assistance, be sure goals are co-created. Set goals that are behaviorally oriented. Goals work best when they are positive, concrete, and reduced to small steps. State a goal in terms of what behavior will occur, how often it will occur, and under what conditions it will occur. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Counseling Method Miracle question: “Should a miracle occur this evening while you were sleeping and when you woke up, you suddenly realized that your problems were solved, what would you be doing that would indicate to you that the miracle had actually taken place?” Relationship questions: “What will your _____ say that will be different after the miracle?” Asking and reinforcing exceptions to the problem solution. Using positive blame. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Counseling Method Scaling progress toward the goal. Asking for 10% improvement Flagging the minefield: “What things might prevent you from moving up 10% on the scale or what might sabotage your plan?” Closing the session. Writing the note: Write the client a message with at least 3 compliments and a bridging statement from each compliment to one of the tasks the client needs to accomplish to raise the scale score 10% or one level from a 4 to a 5. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Five Question Method 1.Ask “How do you experience the problem?” 2.Ask “When do (or did) you not experience the problem? What were you doing then? 3.Have clients rate their current progress on solving the problem on the ) to 10 scale. 4.Ask the miracle question. 5.Set goals based on increasing what works for the client. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Ericksonian Play Therapy Applies techniques of SFBC Play therapy is modified for each child. Relies on child’s strengths. Relies on flexibility and creativity of counselor. Child’s potential is utilized. Therapy uses trance without the child’s awareness. Counselor communicates through storytelling and metaphor. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

P ARADOXICAL BRIEF COUNSELING (PBC) People are independent and resist compliance (actively or passively). PBC focuses on problem formation/elimination. PBC methods are specific and eclectic. Problems reframed as opportunities. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

P ARADOXICAL BRIEF COUNSELING (PBC) Two approaches in PBC: 1) one-down position: elevates the client to the expert role and the counselor to the less- than-expert role. 2) one-up frame of reference: the counselor, as expert, prescribes the behavior the client is to follow. “Do more of your symptomatic behavior.” Puts the resistant client in a double bind. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Benefits of SFBC and PBC Wide appeal among cultures and clients who emphasize individual responsibility over family and community. The approach has much to offer counselors who are working under the constraints of managed health care and who are working with large client loads. *Methods of SFBC and PBC are not easy to master. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

Practice Interview a child or adolescent about their behavior in class. Ask these questions: 1. What has been the most frustrating problem for you this year at school? This is the problem. 2. What did you do to solve your problem? These are your strategies? Which ones worked? Circle those strategies. Which ones did not work? Draw a line through those. What will be different when the problem that has been bothering you at school disappears? That will become your goal. Copyright 2007 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning