Solution focussed therapy

A stranger asks for directions to the local train station. The person he asks thinks for a while, frowns, and says "If I were you, I wouldn't start from here." It is easy to get to a destination if we are almost there, but in life we can sometimes find ourselves in difficult situations and like the stranger, simply not know how to get where we want to be.

But does focusing on where we are now, get us any nearer to our goal?

Solution focused therapy in its purest form would suggest not. This style of therapy can be engaged in an almost content free form, where the therapist elicits the goal or 'desired state' from the client then helps them focus on the practicalities of getting there. With reference to the NLP precept that we already possess the necessary tools to get to wherever we want, it is then a case of helping the client to discover those tools and use them.

There are some potential pitfalls with this approach though. One of which is that the client may feel that the therapist simply isn't listening to them; or that they lack empathy or understanding of their situation.

Room needs to be made for the client to tell their story and have it acknowledged by the therapist. Listening, really and actively listening, is a powerful tool at the therapists disposal. Listening to how the story is told, what the client sees as the salient features and even the language they use to describe it, all give us vital information.

The therapist needs to be alert though to not letting the client wallow in their current situation; getting stuck like the needle on a scratched vinyl record. In both cases a gentle nudge is required, and as with most things in life, timing is the key.

The really good thing about a solution focus though, is that it invites the client to think about what they really want and where they want to be, rather than 'anywhere but here'.

To sum up; if you have a clear idea about where you want to be, you are more likely to get there.

For more information on our courses visit http://www.talkingcurestraining.co.uk

What is real anyway?

You may often hear it said 'it's all in the mind'. This presupposes that there is a reality beyond the mind, where somehow things are more, shall we say, 'concrete' in nature. A reality which is beyond argument or speculation. Rubbish! The thing we call reality is no more than our interpretation of it, commonly called a worldview. Don't believe me?

Consider this: A man says he only believes what he sees. First he sees Paul Daniels make a card disappear. Generally he doesn't accept it has 'really' disappeared, rather than he has been cleverly deceived. Or a woman sees a ghost, but she doesn't believe in ghosts so the unfortunate apparition becomes a trick of the light or an hallucination or whatever.....
So the statement I only believe what I see actually depends upon an interpretation of what we see. Truth my friends is not an absolute; it is merely a statement that is in agreement with the worldview that produced it!

So what has this to do with therapy. Well, everything. Unless you understand the clients worldview you have little hope of a successful intervention. Attempting to get them to subscribe to a version of reality that is 'real', which is at best a consensus reality in that many people agree to it, or at worst the therapists worldview of reality is futile. The intervention has to be framed from the worldview of the client OR has to be aimed at getting the client to modify their worldview in order to reframe the problem so that it is no longer a problem.

Look at the image below:

 

What do you see?

 

If a client told you it was an angry tree spirit out to get them because they had been cursed, what would you do? Tell them it wasn't - good luck with that. How about accepting for a moment that in their reality that is exactly what it was and go from there; the subconscious just loves drama and would respond very well to a curse being lifted.

 

So, my tip for the week 'stop trying to force people to see the world from a narrow point of view and work with the world as they see it'. It really is much more rewarding.