Two Approaches To Adlerian Brief Therapy - Buncombe County ...

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Adlerian Brief Therapy 4 symptoms as solutions, and (e) the assignment of behavioral tasks. These five aspects have been described as a foundation for Adlerian Brief Therapy (Nicoll, Bitter, Christensen, & Hawes, 2000). The two of us differ to some extent upon the relative emphases that should be given to a definitive time limitation, counselor directiveness, and the assignment of behavioral tasks. We both agree, however, that focused work will tend to keep therapy brief, that non-organic symptoms are the client’s solution to a personal problem, and that motivation modification is the goal when both directive interventions and behavioral tasks are used. Of the five dimensions, therapeutic focus is the most critical to successful therapy. In Adlerian Brief Therapy, two foci anchor therapeutic interventions: (a) a focus on who the person is and (b) a focus on what the person wants from therapy. This dual focus can be viewed as two points on a line, leading to a directional question: How does the person move from their current life position toward the preferred or desired position? If we start with who the person is, there are specific Adlerian assessments that tend to yield an immediately useful and holistic understanding of the individual. Among these assessments are the presentation of self and concerns; the individual’s interpretation of place within her or his original family constellation (family system); developmental processes and the tasks of life; and early recollections (see Adler, 1958; Bitter, Christensen, Hawes, & Nicoll, 1998; Bitter & Nicoll, 2000; Dreikurs, 1997). Taken together, the data collected from these assessments constitute what Adlerians call a lifestyle assessment (Eckstein &
Adlerian Brief Therapy 5 Baruth, 1996; Powers & Griffith, 1987, 1995/1986; Shulman & Mosak, 1988). Such assessments are holistic, systemic, and often produce an initial narrative of the individual’s movement through life (Disque & Bitter, 1998). Integrating a time limitation into therapy reflects the reality that therapists meet people in the middle of their lives, and they say “goodbye” to them in the middle of their lives. There is an implied agreement in a brief therapy contract: In a relatively short period of time it is possible to make a significant difference in one’s style of living and coping. There is optimism in the contract that stems from a belief in the client’s ability to change or improve a personal life situation. While Adlerians do not always define the exact number and duration of sessions with a client, when we do, therapeutic work progresses more quickly, staying focused on collaboratively chosen outcomes. The process within sessions often resembles a meeting of minds and hearts. While some therapists choose to focus on the heart and some on strategies for change, effectiveness—especially within a brief therapy framework—requires balance and the recognition that “therapeutic relationship” and “client change” are intimately connected. For the time devoted to therapy, the therapist’s focus is on being fully present with clients. We ask ourselves recurrently: “Where are we going . . . and with whom?” Given these foci, there are obviously some similarities between solution- focused therapy and the Adlerian model (La Fountain, 1996; La Fountain & Garner, 1998; Watts & Pietrzak, 2000; Watts & Shulman, in press). There is,
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Page 19 and 20: Adlerian Brief Therapy 19 Client: W
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Page 25 and 26: Client: Ok. Adlerian Brief Therapy
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Page 29 and 30: Client: Well no, but he wasn’t af
Page 33 and 34: Adlerian Brief Therapy 33 Client: W
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Page 37 and 38: Therapist: And you do your skills.
Page 39 and 40: Therapist: Oooh. How’s that? Clie
Page 41 and 42: Adlerian Brief Therapy 41 shift to
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Page 47: Authors Notes Adlerian Brief Therap

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