SPSY 571 Final Flashcards
Steps of the Problem-Solving Method
1) Identify the problem
2) Problem Assessment
3) Intervention Planning
4) Intervention
5) Follow-Up
Steps of Solution-Focused Methodology
1) Describe the problem
2) Developing well-formed goals (miracle question)
3) Exploring for exceptions (Has this ever happened before?)
4) Session Feedback/Scaling (How do you feel now vs. when you came in here? How likely will you be able to implement this in your life?)
5) Evaluate progress
Who developed the miracle question?
Steve DeShazer
miracle question
solution-focused technique to help clients gain new perspectives on their problems and focus on the positive desired goal rather than just on what is “wrong”
Ex. If this were all better in the morning, what would that look like?
exploration
clinician gathers initial info thru the use of questions, prompts, and probes
elaboration
clinician encourages the client to expand on and enrich the details of the story
levels of exploration and elaboration
1) outer circle talk
2) middle circle talk
3) inner circle talk
outer circle talk
surface level for people to get to know each other; classifies reason for referral, client’s demographics, concerns
middle circle talk
deeper level about conflicts, content, and feelings as relationships develop; more focused attention, can elicit more painful detail, reflection, and affect
inner circle talk
feelings and content about frightening, taboo, or shameful boundaries; client finds out about themselves and relationships with others; MAX TRUST
theme
an idea or belief that repeats
Ex. “There I go again forgetting.”
pattern
behaviors and affective sequences that repeats
Ex. alcoholism, drug-use
exploring exceptions
ask about those times in clients’ lives when their problems are not happening or less severe; substitute’s for intervention planning in the problem-solving approach
exception questions
ask about situations or days in which “the problems” have not happened; gets clients to move out of stuck patterns of negative thinking and to see glimmer of hope
Ex. “Can you think of a specific time last week when you felt more confident?” or “What do you supposed made that happen?”
Iceberg Levels
1) Facts
2) Intentions
3) Perceptions
4) Needs
5) Values
6) Suspicions
7) Feelings
8) Assumptions
Self-Disclosure
providing clients with useful info as long as there is a purpose behind it that could benefit the client; based on life experience to convey empathy; some clients find this informative while some may think the clinician is trying to shift the focus; client may feel inclined to act in the way the clinician did
What to do in self-disclosure?
be brief and avoid sounding condescending or self-righteous
sexual attraction in practice
client can be attracted to clinician and vice versa; DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS since this is forbidden in ethical codes of helping professions
What to do when a client exhibits sexual attraction to the clinician or vice versa?
Client exhibiting: consult with a supervisor before addressing the issue in the relationship
Clinician exhibiting: discuss with supervisor rather than mentioning to client
How to respond to a client exhibiting sexual attraction?
explore client’s sexual attraction and related fantasies, reassure the client about how sexual attraction can arise in intense interpersonal sharing, refocus convo to the contracted work, let client know you would never act on sexual/romantic feelings, review/document discussion of sexual feelings (with review of supervisor), talk to supervisor
transference
when you trigger something in the client which happens unconsciously, positive/negative, in the client and transfers/attributes this onto the current client-clinician relationship
counter-transference
when client triggers something in the clinician which happens unconsciously, positive/negative, in the clinician and transfers/attributes this onto the current client-clinician relationship
Why address these sexual behaviors as clinicians?
to develop boundaries appropriate to context of clinical working environments
resistance
refusal to follow the clinician’s leads or suggestions; should not be seen as negative trait of the client but rather client feels the need to protect themselves from questions that waver their stability
What is the probable cause of resistance?
when they realize more is required of them than they are willing to commit/present, cultural differences, if there’s a disturbance in the relationship, if clinician hasn’t found the right way to join client’s perspective, if agencies policies, procedures, or staff are too different from what the client is used to; finances
What are some positives behind self disclosure?
builds rapport and empathy
What to watch out for in self-disclosure?
don’t share too much, no benefit = don’t share
How to deal with personal questions?
give some info but not alot, can have boundaries and say “no”, explain why you won’t answer, explore the purpose of the question and why they need to know
Counseling Techniques
1) dot-dot-dot questions
2) universalizing
3) sustaining
4) open-ended questions
5) not-knowing perspective
6) prompts
7) reflections
8) positivity portfolios
9) 3 good things
10) underlining
10) LKM meditation
11) socratic questioning
12) Role plays
13) exposure therapy
14) modeling
15) behavior rehearsal
Problematic Questions
1) rat-a-tat questions
2) double questions
3) pseudo questions
4) tangential questions
5) closed-ended questions
not-knowing perspective
a perspective that it is okay not to know and clients know more about their realities than we do
sustaining techniques
offer clients support as they open their stories to deeper exploration and elaboration
open-ended questions
gives the client ore opportunity or flexibility in responding and elaborating
universalizing
supporting and validating technique used to undercut a client’s sense of isolation or differentness; can sometimes backfire and make the client feel their needs are unimportant
dot-dot-dot questions
technique where the clinician simply repeats back the last thing said and hangs it, unfinished, in midair for the the client to complete
Ex. This happened because . . .?
rat-a-tat questions
one-rapid fire question after another; considered problematic
tangential questions
veers from the main topic, taking side roads in session without good reason or clear focus; considered problematic
psuedoquestions
directives or commands disguised as questions
Ex. Are you going to do your homework now?
double questions
occurs when we ask the client to respond to more than one question at a time
Ex. When did this happen? How did this happen?
closed-ended questions
more focal of the types of questions which can usually be answered with a word or two, after which the client ceases talking
Ex. Did you enjoy this activity?
