Postmodern
Approaches
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning
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Postmodernists assume there are multiple
truths -
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Reality is subjective and is based on the use of
language

Postmodernists strive for a collaborative and
consultative stance
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Postmodern thought has an impact on the
development of many theories
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (3)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

The client, not the therapist, is the expert
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Dialogue is used to elicit perspective,
resources, and unique client experiences
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Questions empower clients to speak and to
express their diverse positions

The therapist supplies optimism and the
process
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (1 )
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Generate new meanings in the lives of clients
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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
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (2)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Therapy grounded on a positive orientation-people are healthy and competent

SFBT shares similarities with positive
psychology
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Past is downplayed, while present and future
are highlighted
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Therapy is concerned with looking for what is
working
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (4)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Therapists assist clients in finding exceptions
to their problems

There is a shift from “problem-orientation” to
“solution-focus”

Emphasis is on constructing solutions rather
than problem solving
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (5)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

The problem itself may not be relevant to
finding effective solutions

People can create their own solutions

Small changes lead to large changes
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (6)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

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
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (7)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Skillful questions allow people to utilize their
resources

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

Questions can get clients to notice
when things were better

Useful questions
◦ help people pay attention to what they
are doing
◦ open up possibilities to do something
different
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (9)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Customer-type relationship: Client and
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Complainant relationship: A client describes a
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Visitors: Clients come to therapy because
therapist jointly identify a problem and a
solution to work toward
problem, but is not able or willing to take an
active role in constructing a solution
someone else thinks they have a problem
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (10)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

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

Miracle question
◦ If a miracle happened and the problem you
have was solved, what would be different in
your life?

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 __________?
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (12)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning

Formula First session Task
◦ From 1st to 2nd session- observe things in
your life that you want to maintain
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Therapist Feedback end of sessions
◦ Compliment
◦ Bridge – rational for suggestion/homework
◦ Tasks
 Observational Task – focus on positive changes
 Behavioral Task – do more of or do differently
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 13 (12)
©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage
Learning
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
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
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
A major strength of solution-focused a therapy
is the 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
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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