Strengths Focus

From: jmurphy@mail.uca.edu
Date: 2/5/99
Time: 11:53:07 AM
Remote Name: 161.31.214.129

Comments

Though various "therapy/treatment" models appear to be equally effective in a general sense, I believe that decades of psychotherapy outcome research support the notion of assessing and utilizing clients' strengths and resources in our helping efforts (for example, career researcher Michael Lambert has frequently commented on the potent contribution of "client factors" (strengths, social supports, fortuitous events, etc.) to positive therapy outcomes. In working with inner-city students and families for 15 years as a school psychologist, I have found it to be most beneficial to include questions and comments about "what's working" for a student/family/teacher/etc. in addition to what is not. I find it useful to take a both/and instead of either/or perspective in regard to assessing deficits and resources. I believe that the "decision" as to how much emphasis to place on strengths or deficits depends largely on client preferences. For example, in using "solution-focused" therapy approach for the past several years, I avoid "ramrodding" or "imposing" the strength/solution-focus onto clients who indicate a need and preference to discuss and explore their own (or their child's/student's) weaknesses. However, I have found that including strengths and resources in the discussion engenders cooperation and ultimately contributes to successful outcomes. For example, even the most "resistant" adolescents will "resist" questions about "what's working" in their lives. Even when they don't provide a lot of information in response to such questions, the question itself acknowledges and implies that they do in fact have important resources to offer. I have also found in doing trainings on the solution-focused approach for child, adolescnt, and school problems, that practitioners relax more and appraoch problem-solving with a more hopeful attitude (another aspect that contributes to positive outcomes in therapy). Michael, I appreciate your work and I would like to learn more about it. I have written two recent books on the application of the "resource-based" approach to school problems, and I would love to get your feedback on these in regard to how the ideas and strategies jive with your work. I'll write you off-line to pursue this further. Thanks for the opportunity to "chat" on this topic.

John Murphy, Ph.D.