Postmodern Approaches

*Postmodern approaches do not have a single founder.

Insoo Kim Berg - Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

(1935 - 2007)

Steve de Shazer - Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

(1940 - 2005)

 

 

Michael White - Narrative Therapy

(1949 - 2008)

 

 

David Epston - Narrative Therapy

(b. 1944)

 

 

 

 

Goals:

• To change the way clients view problems & what they do about these concerns.

• To collaboratively establish specific, clear, concrete, realistic, & observable goals leading to increased positive change.

• To help clients create a self-identity grounded on competence & resourcefulness so they can resolve present  future concerns.

• To assist clients in viewing their lives in positive ways, rather than being problem saturated. 

   

 

Key Concepts:

• Therapy tends to be brief & addresses the the present & the future.

• The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem.

• The emphasis is on externalizing the problem & looking for exceptions to the problem.

• Therapy consists of a collaborative dialogue in which the therapist & the client co-create solutions.

• By identifying instances when the problem did not exist, clients can create new meanings for themselves & fashion a new life story. 

   

   

  

   

   

  Theories:

  • Based on the premise that there are multiple realities & multiple truths, postmodern therapies reject the idea that reality is external & can be grasped.

  • People create meaning in their lives through conversations with others.

  • The postmodern approaches avoid pathologizing clients, take a dim view of diagnosis, avoid searching for underlying causes of problems, & place a high value on discovering clients' strengths & resources.

  • Rather than talking about problems, the focus of therapy is on creating solutions in the present & in the future.

     

     

    

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    Other Techniques:

    • In solution-focused therapy, the main technique is change-talk, with emphasis on times in a client's life when the problem was not a problem.

    • Creative use of questioning

    • The miracle question

    • Scaling questions

    • Formula first session task

    • Therapist feedback to clients

    • Terminating

    • Application to group counseling

    • In narrative therapy, specific techniques include listening to a client's problem-saturated story without getting stuck.

    • Externalizing & naming the problem.

    • Externalizing conversations

    • Discovering clues to competence

    • Questions & more questions

    • Search for unique outcomes

    • Alternative stories & reauthoring

    • Documenting the evidence

    • *Narrative therapists often write letters to clients & assist them in finding an audience that will support their changes & new stories.

       

       

       
      
      
      
      
      
      
      Solution-Focused Couples Therapy  - Insoo Kim Berg Video Clip 
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

      References:

       

      •  Corey, G. (2013)..Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9th ed.,). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

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