1. Postmodern Approaches ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

2.  Postmodernists assume there are multiple truths -  Reality is subjective: language both describes and “creates” our understanding of reality  Postmodernists strive for a collaborative and consultative stance -- social consensus  Postmodern thought has had an impact on the development of theories in many fields Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (3) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

3.  The client, not the therapist, is the expert  Dialogue is used to elicit perspectives, resources, and unique client experiences  Questions empower clients to speak and to express their diverse positions  The therapist supplies optimism and guides the process Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (1 ) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

4.  Generate new meanings in the lives of clients  Co-develop, with clients, solutions that are unique to the situation  Enhance awareness of the impact of various aspects of the dominant culture on the individual  Help people develop alternative ways of being, acting, knowing, and living-- re-write their script Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (2) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

5.  Solution Focused Brief Therapy  Feminist Approach

6.  Therapy grounded on a positive orientation-- people are healthy and competent (Rogers)  Past is downplayed, while present and future are highlighted (Rogers Existential, Gestalt)  Therapy emphasizes what is working Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (4) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

7.  Therapists assist clients in finding exceptions to their problems  Emphasis is on constructing solutions rather than problem solving Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (5) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

8.  Analyzing the problem is not necessary to find effective solutions ◦ “What will be different in your life when your problem is solved?”  People can create their own solutions ◦ Times when problem did not exist or was less severe  Small changes lead to large changes ◦ Achievable changes Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (6) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

9.  The client is the expert on his or her own life  The best therapy involves a collaborative partnership  A therapist’s “not knowing” affords the client an opportunity to construct a solution  These remind us of theories Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (7) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

10.  Asking “how questions” that imply change can be useful  Effective questions focus attention on solutions Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (8) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

11.  Questions are used to: ◦ Guide people to identify their resources ◦ Notice times when things were better ◦ Help people pay attention to what they are doing ◦ Open up possibilities to do something different  Reminds concept of guided self- discovery from theory  Favors “how questions” ◦ focused on solutions Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (9) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

12.  Pre-therapy change ◦ What have you done since you made the appointment that has made a difference in your problem?  Exception questions ◦ Direct clients to times in their lives when the problem did not exist Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (11) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

13.  Miracle question ◦ If a miracle happened and the problem you have was solved, what would be different in your life? Stan Vignette- What would be different if you were not anxious all the time?  Scaling questions ◦ On a scale of zero to 10, where zero is the worst you have been and 10 represents the problem being solved, where are you with respect to __________? ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

14.  Formula First session Task ◦ From 1 st to 2 nd session- observe things in your life that you want to maintain  Therapist feedback at end of sessions ◦ Acknowledge client for work done ◦ Bridge-- rational for suggestion/homework  Observational Task – focus on positive changes  Behavioral Task – do more of; or do differently

15.  Customer-type relationship: Client and therapist jointly identify a problem and a solution to work toward  Complainant relationship: A client describes a problem, but is not able or willing to take an active role in constructing a solution  Visitor: Client comes to therapy because someone else thinks they have a problem Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (10) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

16.  Optimistic orientation helps clients make significant moves toward building more satisfying lives in a relatively short period of time  The postmodern approaches’ dim view of diagnosis remind us that people cannot be reduced to a specific problem Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (27) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

17.  Major strength: use of questioning to generate solutions  Brief therapy has been shown to be effective for a wide range of clinical problems Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (28) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning

18.  Therapists must be skilled in implementing brief interventions  Therapists may employ techniques in a mechanistic fashion  Reliance on techniques may detract from building a therapeutic relationship Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (29) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning To what extent is Kathy experiencing normal versus neurotic guilt regarding using her money to do things for herself (e.g. buy nice cloth, enjoy the arts). Explain. To what extent is he experiencing normal versus neurotic anxiety regarding her relationship with men? Explain