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

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

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Adlerian Brief Therapy 6 however, at least one significant difference. Solution-focused therapists assume that expressed, preferred outcomes are really desired by the client. The Miracle Question (de Shazer, 1988) was designed to help clients construct intended outcomes: “If a miracle happened tonight and you woke up with the problem solved, or you were reasonably confident you were on a track to solving it, what would you be doing differently?” (Walter & Peller, 1992, p. 78). Any answer to this question may seem like a desired outcome that can serve as both a goal and focus of therapy. If it is, however, why do counselors who ask some variation of this question seem to run into so much resistance when attempting to help clients reach the goals they have articulated? [See Berg, 1993; O’Hanlon, 1995] In 1929, Adler (1964) developed “The Question,” an intervention that Dreikurs (1997) later re-phrased as “What would you be doing if you didn’t have these symptoms or problems?” Unlike modern solution-focused therapists, however, Dreikurs believed that presenting problems were often the solutions that the client had chosen in order to avoid or retreat from the larger life tasks of social responsibility, occupation, and intimacy. Adlerians use “The Question” to assess which task(s) the client is choosing to avoid. “If I weren’t depressed, I would enjoy going to work. I would be able to focus on the projects I have been given, and I would meet deadlines that would bring the company recognition. And I would probably do so well, I would be promoted.” Such an answer sounds like a goal the client actually has, but Adlerians suspect that the individual actually lacks the courage to face the

Adlerian Brief Therapy 7 demands of work. If perfection is the perceived requirement for promotion, then failure seems all too imminent. In a psychology of use (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956), depression is the client’s solution when faced with the perceived possibility of failure: It serves as an excuse for the client’s retreat from the occupational life task. Toward a Relationship – Intervention Continuum Therapeutic relationship has a direct influence on therapeutic interventions and therapeutic outcomes. Those interventions that connect the client to both internal and external resources tend to empower the individual and encourage movement in therapy. The therapist may initially be the only external resource the client has. A quality relationship is based on mutual respect, requires an interest in and fascination with the client and what she or he brings to therapy, and is facilitated by a collaboration that seeks to make an immediate difference in the client’s life. When the therapist and client arrive at strategies for change at about the same time, resistance is all but non-existent and motivation is high. For example, in a session where a mother is struggling with what to do when her child throws a temper tantrum, she realizes that yelling at him to “stop yelling” is not effective. Instead of giving a direct recommendation, the therapist explores the possibilities already available to her. Therapist: So doing something that doesn’t involve speaking or talking might be useful to you.

<strong>Adlerian</strong> <strong>Brief</strong> <strong>Therapy</strong> 6<br />

however, at least one significant difference. Solution-focused therapists assume<br />

that expressed, preferred outcomes are really desired by the client. The Miracle<br />

Question (de Shazer, 1988) was designed to help clients construct intended<br />

outcomes: “If a miracle happened tonight and you woke up with the problem<br />

solved, or you were reasonably confident you were on a track to solving it, what<br />

would you be doing differently?” (Walter & Peller, 1992, p. 78). Any answer to<br />

this question may seem like a desired outcome that can serve as both a goal and<br />

focus of therapy. If it is, however, why do counselors who ask some variation of<br />

this question seem to run into so much resistance when attempting to help clients<br />

reach the goals they have articulated? [See Berg, 1993; O’Hanlon, 1995]<br />

In 1929, Adler (1964) developed “The Question,” an intervention that<br />

Dreikurs (1997) later re-phrased as “What would you be doing if you didn’t have<br />

these symptoms or problems?” Unlike modern solution-focused therapists,<br />

however, Dreikurs believed that presenting problems were often the solutions<br />

that the client had chosen in order to avoid or retreat from the larger life tasks of<br />

social responsibility, occupation, and intimacy. <strong>Adlerian</strong>s use “The Question” to<br />

assess which task(s) the client is choosing to avoid.<br />

“If I weren’t depressed, I would enjoy going to work. I would be able to<br />

focus on the projects I have been given, and I would meet deadlines that would<br />

bring the company recognition. And I would probably do so well, I would be<br />

promoted.” Such an answer sounds like a goal the client actually has, but<br />

<strong>Adlerian</strong>s suspect that the individual actually lacks the courage to face the

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