Chapter 14: Solution-focused therapy & Chapter 15 Narrative Therapy

Chapter 14 - Solution-focused therapy

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is goal oriented, targeting the desired outcome of therapy as a solution rather than focusing on the symptoms or issues that brought someone to therapy. This technique emphasizes present and future circumstances and desires over past experiences. The therapist encourages the client to imagine the future that he or she wants and then the therapist and client collaborate on a series of steps to achieve that goal. This form of therapy involves developing a vision of one’s future, and then determining what skills, resources, and abilities a person already possesses that can be enhanced in order to attain the desired outcome. SFBT was developed by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg, and their team at the Brief Family Therapy Family Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the early 1980s. Solution-focused brief therapy contends that people are equipped with the skills to create change in their lives, though they may need help in refining and identifying those skills. SFBT practitioners empathize with the struggles of their clients and guide clients to see what is working for them, to continue those practices that work, and to acknowledge and celebrate their successes. In solution-focused brief therapy, counselors ask specific types of question to guide the session. Miracle questions help people envision a future in which the problem is absent.

How it relates to CSA: This type of therapy emphasize the present and future and the goals they want to attain, and then create those goals while in the session. They may delve into the past somewhat, but the main priority is to realize that the student has the ability and the skills to change their lives. It is the ability to converse with the student and create ways that work for them that might not have been working before. This therapy is also useful in Student Affairs for its focus is on the future, and any decision or choice the student consciously makes will affect their future plans to some degree or another.

Video: Solution-focused Therapy: The client says that if she strongly believes in it and thinks she can do it, she can. The client thinks that eating is a way out, when she worries she eats. Lately she finds herself up late at night snacking, and she thinks it has a lot to do with worrying. When she started smoking cigarettes it was about belonging and being a part of a crowd. She thought the drugs made her more interesting, she always thought she was a boring person because she was shy and introverted and it was hard for her to hold a conversation with other people. She thought the drugs helped her be more outgoing. She then realized she was a fun person without the drugs. This relates to solution-focused therapy because the client in this scenario is able to see that she can take a different approach in losing weight and in quitting smoking. She will continue to use practices that work for her.

Chapter 15- Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy was developed by Michael White and David Epston. Narrative therapy is a method of therapy that separates the person from the problem and encourages people to rely on their own skill sets to minimize the problems that exist in their everyday lives. Throughout life, personal experiences are transformed into personal stories that are given meaning and help shape a person’s identity, and narrative therapy utilizes the power of people’s personal stories to discover the life purpose of the narrator. Narrative therapy was created as an empowering, and collaborative form of therapy that recognizes that people possess natural competencies, skills, and expertise that can help guide change in their lives. Rather than transforming the person, narrative therapy aims to transform the effects of the problem. Narrative therapy can be used for individuals, couples, or families. Practitioners of narrative therapy believe that simply telling one’s story of a problem is a form of action toward change. The therapist also helps people to see what is "absent but implicit" in the presentation of a problem. By exploring the impact of the problem, it is possible to identify what is truly important and valuable to a person in a broader context, beyond the problem. This can help a person identify a common thread to connect his or her actions and choices throughout life. In other words, all the "other" experiences and values from life are "absent but implicit" as people navigate new terrain. This process can help a person better understand his or her experience of life and gain personal agency for addressing problem scenarios in the future.

How it relates to CSA: This concept of narrative therapy, can be very helpful to student affairs professionals because instead of trying to transform the person (which can be a very difficult feat) narrative therapy aims to transform the problem. There will be an array of experiences the student might disclose to me when sitting in my office, and it is important to realize that these experiences have shaped and will continue to shape the students identity. It is vital to evaluate what the student’s values and morals are as they explore ways to fix the problem; this will provide the student with a better idea of how to address or avoid the problem if it surfaces in the future.

Video: Narrative Therapy: The counselor says the client has a loving family, but how will the mom help ward off the taunting. The client says not to pay attention to the taunting, because if you pay attention to it, you’ll just get madder. Another solution is to treat people the way you want to be treated. Also if you taunt people they will taunt you back. This is a young client working with the counselor disclosing the fact that he was taunted and coming up with ways in which the taunting can be prevented. This applies to narrative therapy in that they are creating ways to transform the effects of the problem.