Chapter 10 Brief Counseling If you want truly to understand something, try to change it Kurt Lewin © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Outline the development of solution-focused counseling • Explain the theory of solution-focused counseling • Discuss the counseling relationship and goals in solution-focused counseling • Describe assessment, process, and techniques in solution-focused counseling • Demonstrate some therapeutic techniques © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Beliefs • Even when people are not doing well, pieces of solutions are happening • Find out what the client is doing that works • Those things become the building blocks of therapy • Talking about positive parts of the client’s life builds self-worth, creates optimism, and begins a change process that starts with existing strengths and resources © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A 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 © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A 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 © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Bruce’s SFBC Intervention Tasks • “Do something different.” • “Pay attention to what you 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 © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling Method • Orientation: Clarify the SFBC counseling process • Setting Goals: heart of counseling including statement of the problem: o The problem o The feelings associated with the problem o The intensity of those feelings on a to 10 scale o 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 to 10?” • Working with positive and negative goals © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A 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 © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A 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 © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A 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 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 to a © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Five Question Method Ask “How you experience the problem?” Ask “When (or did) you not experience the problem? What were you doing then? Have clients rate their current progress on solving the problem on the to 10 scale Ask the miracle question Set goals based on increasing what works for the client © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Benefits of SFBC • 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 are not easy to master © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A [...]... solving the problem on the 0 to 10 scale 4 Ask the miracle question 5 Set goals based on increasing what works for the client © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Benefits of SFBC • 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 ... solution-focused counseling • Discuss the counseling relationship and goals in solution-focused counseling • Describe assessment, process, and techniques in solution-focused counseling • Demonstrate some.. .Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: • Outline the development of solution-focused counseling • Explain the theory of solution-focused counseling •... them • “Observe and take notes” for clients who have trouble avoiding problem situations and interactions © 2011 Brooks/Cole, A Counseling Method • Orientation: Clarify the SFBC counseling process