Deck 14: Solution-Focused Therapy

Question 1

Define "presuppositional question" and give 2 examples. Why are these important in solution-focused therapy?

Answer 1

A presuppositional question is a type of question that assumes a certain belief or understanding. In solution-focused therapy, these questions are important because they help guide the client's thinking and focus on positive outcomes.

One example of a presuppositional question in solution-focused therapy is "What are some steps you have already taken towards reaching your goal?" This question assumes that the client has already taken steps towards their goal, encouraging them to reflect on their progress and build on their successes.

Another example is "How will you know when you have achieved your desired outcome?" This question assumes that the client will achieve their desired outcome, prompting them to envision success and consider the signs of reaching their goal.

These types of questions are important in solution-focused therapy because they help shift the client's focus towards their strengths and abilities, rather than dwelling on problems or barriers. By assuming positive beliefs and outcomes, presuppositional questions can help empower the client and reinforce their confidence in finding solutions.

Question 2

Describe the theoretical rationale behind the Miracle Question as used by solution- focused therapists.

Answer 2

The Miracle Question is a key technique used in solution-focused therapy, a brief and goal-oriented approach to helping clients create positive change in their lives. The theoretical rationale behind the Miracle Question lies in the belief that clients have the capacity to envision and create their own solutions to their problems.

The Miracle Question asks clients to imagine a scenario in which their problem is miraculously solved overnight while they are sleeping. They are asked to describe what their life would be like if this miracle happened, and to envision in detail what would be different. This exercise is designed to help clients identify their goals, hopes, and values, and to shift their focus from the problem to the solution.

From a theoretical perspective, the Miracle Question is based on the assumption that clients have the resources and strengths within themselves to achieve their desired outcomes. By tapping into their imagination and vision of a better future, clients can gain insight into their own abilities and develop a clearer understanding of what they want to achieve. This in turn can help them take steps towards making their desired future a reality.

In summary, the Miracle Question is rooted in the belief that clients have the capacity for change and that by imagining a miracle, they can gain insight into their own desires and abilities to create positive change in their lives.

Question 3

Explain why solution-focused therapists are not interested in traditional diagnosis.

Answer 3

Solution-focused therapists are not interested in traditional diagnosis because they believe that focusing on diagnosing and labeling a client's problems can be counterproductive to the therapeutic process. Instead of pathologizing clients and placing them in specific diagnostic categories, solution-focused therapists prefer to focus on the client's strengths, resources, and potential solutions. They believe that by emphasizing the client's abilities and resilience, they can help the client to envision a future where they are no longer limited by their problems.

Additionally, solution-focused therapists believe that traditional diagnosis can perpetuate a sense of hopelessness and helplessness in clients. By labeling a client with a specific disorder or diagnosis, it can reinforce the idea that the client's problems are permanent and unchangeable. This can hinder the client's ability to see themselves as capable of making positive changes in their lives.

Instead, solution-focused therapists prefer to collaborate with the client to identify their goals, envision a preferred future, and explore the steps that can be taken to achieve that future. By focusing on the client's strengths and resources, solution-focused therapy aims to empower the client and foster a sense of hope and optimism. This approach is more aligned with the principles of positive psychology and the belief that individuals have the capacity for growth and change.

Question 4

Describe Visitors, Complainants, and Customers. Why, according to solution-focused therapists, is it not a good thing if your client is a Visitor?

Question 5

Discuss the research on the empirical validity and support for solution-focused theory
and therapy.

Question 6

What are the strengths and weaknesses of feminist therapy in terms of working with clients from diverse backgrounds?

Question 7

Solution-focused therapy has been criticized for:

A) its sole focus on symptom relief
B) being too sophisticated and not useful in applied settings
C) having too many ways to explain human behavior
D) a theoretical structure that is too complex

Question 8

Which of the following statements BEST describes the status of research that has been conducted on solution-focused therapy

A) The theory underlying solution-focused therapy is easily testable and appears to be sound
B) Solution-focused therapy does not have an underlying theoretical structure
C) The theory underlying solution-focused therapy is precise
D) Solution-focused therapy does not have an underlying theoretical structure; however, the techniques have been found to be very useful

Question 9

Which of the following is true regarding empirical support for solution-focused therapy?

A) the research focuses more on outcome rather than theory testing efforts
B) there is a large body of research
C) there is some support for the effectiveness of solution-focused therapy
D) both A and C

Question 10

One common criticism of solution-focused therapy as a method of working with clients who are from disadvantaged ethnic groups is that solution-focused therapy places too

A) much emphasis on environmental factors that might influence the client
B) little emphasis on broader social factors that might influence the client
C) much emphasis on the problem
D) both b and c

Question 11

Solution-focused therapists tend to believe that

A) there is no one true reality
B) all behavior can be measured
C) there is only one true reality
D) reality is a function of a person's behavior and free will

Question 12

Donna comes to counseling because she thinks that she has obsessive compulsive disorder. She has numerous obsessive thoughts. One of these thoughts is that she has left the coffee-maker on in her apartment and that it will start a fire that will burn the building down. The coffee-maker worry results in her returning to her apartment 3 or 4 times each morning, and she is often late to work. Donna's solution-focused therapy counselor, Bob, wonders aloud if she is sensitive to detail, routine and order. Bob has

A) ignored Donna's feelings
B) disrupted the pattern of the complaint
C) imposed his worldview on the client
D) normalized the problem

Question 13

Bob asks Donna about times when she does not go back to her apartment. From a solution-focused perspective, Bob has

A) ignored Donna's feelings
B) disrupted the pattern of the complaint
C) imposed his worldview on the client
D) asked the right question

Question 14

Bob gives a case presentation to a bunch of counseling students. He states that "this client has a great strength in her ability to attend to detail." What mistake has Bob made?

A) misuse of terms
B) failure to attend to the biological nature of obsessive compulsive disorder
C) ignoring the symptom
D) he has done nothing wrong

Question 15

Bob asks Donna to go home and write some dialogue to bring to their next session. He tells her to write a conversation between the detail-oriented, Dee, and the slob, Dumb. Bob seems a little scattered in his approach; in fact, he is acting more like a _____ therapist than a solution-focused therapist and is using the _____ technique.

A) interpersonal; role playing
B) reality therapy; humor
C) Gestalt therapy; reversal
D) Gestalt therapy; top dog- underdog

Question 16

A solution-focused therapist will MOST likely endorse which of the following statements:

A) Clients depend entirely on the therapist to teach them resources that will bring about change
B) Change occurs during the course of therapy, but it is NOT inevitable
C) A small amount of change instills a sense of hope in the client that more is possible
D) Large changes need to occur in order to be considered significant by the client

Question 17

Greg, who is a solution-focused therapist, hypothesizes that Jessie might be a:

A) Customer
B) Complementary receiver
C) Complainant
D) Visitor

Question 18

Greg is likely to focus on Jessie's:

A) thoughts about how the two of them could work together to make something different in Jessie's life
B) difficulty taking responsibility for being fired
C) relationship with his wife
D) apparent lack of concern for the problems that he is encountering

Question 19

Which of the following interventions is Greg likely to try with Jessie?

A) fast forward questioning
B) compliments
C) asking about the problem
D) normalizing the problem

Question 20

Mark will likely conduct a formal assessment of Jane (e.g., a structured interview, brief measure of intelligence, and paper and pencil personality inventory) for the purpose of:

A) examining how her conditions of worth are related to her current symptoms of depression
B) investigating the extent that her symptoms of depression are due to her physical illness
C) determining an accurate DSM-V diagnosis
D) Solution-focused therapists do not use formal assessments

Question 21

In addition to empathic listening, Mark would most likely:

A) focus on family members' reactions to Jane's disease
B) look for evidence of Jane's competence and strength
C) acknowledge that solution-focused approaches to therapy are only effective for psychological disorders
D) ask Jane a series of questions about her illness as soon as possible, given the nature of Jane's problems

Question 22

Marks asks Jane the question, "If while you were sleeping something happened to make everything better, how would you know that things were better in the morning?" Mark's question is an example of which of the following solution- focused interventions?

A) The person is political
B) Scaling questions
C) The miracle question
D) Fast forward questions

Question 23

Mark spends many sessions gathering further information about Jane and ends up attributing Jane's depression and hopelessness to a traumatic event that happened during Jane's first marriage. Mark presents his conceptualization to his supervisor, who is likely to conclude that:

A) Mark is "right on track" with his hypotheses and should explore the roots of Jane's depression further
B) Jane has little or no hope to ever feel happy again, due to this traumatic event
C) Jane would benefit from continued assessment
D) Mark has become "tangled" in the problem

Question 24

In solution-focused therapy, the counselor is most interested in

A) the absence of the problem
B) historical aspects of the problem
C) the family dynamics of the client
D) the causes of the problem

Question 25

Solution-focused therapy is known to focus particularly on

A) stages of personality development across the lifespan
B) Human nature
C) mechanisms of change
D) the etiology of problems

Question 26

Solution-focused therapists believe that it is preferable to ____ during the initial session with a client:

A) Form a solvable complaint
B) Conduct a thorough social history of the client
C) Solve the client's presenting problem
D) Both a and c

Question 27

Solution-focused therapists consider which of the following therapy session(s) to be most important

A) the first session
B) the last session
C) the middle session
D) each session is of equal importance

Question 28

A miracle client:

A) tells the therapist what s/he thinks that the therapist wants to hear
B) is often encouraged to anticipate difficulties that s/he may encounter in the future
C) has difficulty focusing on the positive aspects of his/her therapy process
D) works closely with the therapist to provide ideas about how to solve other client's problems

Question 29

A question that is commonly asked by a solution-focused therapist is: "When the problem is not present, how are things different?" This question is an example of a _______ question.

A) Miracle
B) Scaling
C) Presuppositional
D) Transferential

Question 30

A solution-focused therapist will MOST often provide the client with ______ during their first session:

A) a homework assignment
B) information about their DSM-V diagnosis
C) a referral to a primary care physician for a thorough medical evaluation
D) a chart that the client can use to record his/her dreams each evening

Question 31

Solution-focused therapists tend to view resistance as a:

A) function of the client's perceived inability to solve a problem
B) faulty defense mechanism that is the result of too much insight oriented therapy
C) construct that is not relevant to Solution-focused therapy
D) cornerstone to understanding client's poor self concept

Question 32

Seidel and Hedley (2008) found the following regarding solution-focused therapy

A) little change in positive directions on measures
B) significant change in positive directions on measures
C) participants tended to withdraw from therapy after first session
D) waiting list control group improved more significantly

Question 33

Meta analyses of solution-focused counseling found:

A) small effect sizes that favored solution-focused therapy
B) variable quality of the studies and mixed results
C) statistically significant effect only for internalizing problems
D) all of the above