Our Approach

OUR APPROACH

Our approach to therapy is based on a Brief Short Term Solution-Focused Model. This model is embedded in the larger Social Constructionist World View.

BRIEF SHORT TERM THERAPY

While Brief Treatment has certainly been done in many cases in the past, it is only within the past 10 years or so that therapists have begun taking it seriously. Currently, encouraged by many different factors, managed health care and limited numbers of allowable sessions being one, a great number of therapists have begun proposing that many kinds of problems are resolvable by brief therapy.

It is our belief, however, the most important factor underlying the onset of the brief therapy models is the theoretical questioning of the historic socially and psychologically entrenched models of "the personality, the psychological pathology and the psychotherapeutic techniques" which flow from this view. In addition, in light of the research (see deShazer, 1986 for a review of solution focused information and Messer & Warren,1995 for a review of research on the brief psychodynamic models) on outcome studies on the brief therapy models, we now have a yardstick to compare these therapies taking us beyond anecdotal claims and speculations.

SOLUTION FOCUSED THERAPY

Wittgenstein. L. (1975) stated: "The classification made by philosophers and psychologists are like those that someone would give who tried to classify clouds by their shapes."

Solution Focused Therapy is based on a shift in therapeutic thinking from trying to understand and locate pathology in individuals to assisting them with constructing solutions to the problems presented. This is based on the idea that often people's solutions to problems ( what they found helpful) seemed to have no direct relationship to the problems presented (Lipchik, 1986; Molnar & deShazer, 1987). In this view, the therapist asks questions and prescribes tasks that assists clients with focusing on their own definitions of therapeutic goals, with an emphasis on utilizing their own existing and potential resources.

For a creative and interesting cross between solution focused therapy and narrative therapy, see O'Hanlon's Possibility Therapy (1994).

THE NARRATIVE VIEW

The Narrative View (White, 1986) is based on the idea that people have a story about themselves and their problem and that this story is one which has been told many times. Because it is very entrenched in their belief systems, it is less likely that they will notice other aspects of their experiences that do not fit with their dominant story, i.e. their shadow stories (Atwood, 1996). Therapeutic questioning of these shadow stories enables persons to expand their original story to include their alternative experiences. This expansion then provides a broader vision and thus holds new potential for growth and change.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
THE THEORY

When we consider knowledge is rooted in our way of seeing the world, when we accept a given item as known, we are also accepting the validity of many rules for establishing the reality of truth as something that exists outside of ourselves. Generally, we are unaware of these rules, or the particular "world" in which they belong. And generally we do not think about the means by which these worlds become established and how they can be challenged and overturned (see Berger and Luckmann, 1967 and Gergen, 1985). The examination of such social constructions- - definitions of reality under which individuals and their families operate- - is the underlying basis of therapies rooted in Social Constructionist assumptions.

THE THERAPY

The therapy involves exploring person's various current socially constructed individual, couple, and family scripts and relating them to the social worlds in which they are anchored. The Social Constructionist therapist collaborates with clients to co-create new stories, new possibilities, new ways of seeing and being. Together they work, fostering awareness and growth that will affect both. Their agreement is nothing more than to come together for a time: one human being to another, to work together to talk to each other about their realities and ultimately, through trust and mutual respect, they will "see" with expanded vision.

The process that is generated is one where both are motivated to mobilize processes in each other that will ultimately promote psychological growth and expand realities. There is no therapist client dependency; both therapist and client are equal and they are both equally dependent, for all things are dependent on all other things imperfect balance; they have connected with each other on a different plane. There is only process dependency and this is for both. The process works; they feel its power. Both know when it is operating because they become one, and like the particles and waves, they become each other. They connect with a reality that holds no bounds, yet they feel their boundaries. At that moment they experience the human condition, and its force is healing, nurturing, and loving (See Atwood, 1995, 1996).

Social Construction Therapies assume the following:

that there are no absolute truths and there are no absolute realities.

that we co-construct reality through language with another in a continual interaction with the socio-cultural environment. Thus, what is "real" is that which is co-constructed through language and interaction by individuals, couples, families in continual interplay with the surrounding socio-cultural environment.

that knowledge is a co-construction of a world through languaging with other people.

that our inner world is a construct, colored by the past and our past is a construction.

that people who come for therapy are experiencing problems in living. They have tried many solutions- - most of which have been unsuccessful. The problems they report are not seen as being functional in maintaining their systems or as a manifestation of underlying pathology. They are seen as problems- - problems which have negative effects for them. The way that people language about problems is the way they can use language to co-construct a new story.

that people tend to re-create an image of their world by noticing behavior in others that confirms their self-definitions and definitions of situations and by selectively ignoring disconfirmatory behavior. Thus every description made by an observer is seen as a projection of themselves.

that through joining, the therapist creates an optimal safe environment in which change might occur.

that repetitive knowledge of behavior that is discrepant with persons' perceptual views will result in changes in their perceptual views (Atwood, 1995).

OTHER

Other methods of therapy are also available. More psychodynamically based therapies are available for those individuals who wish to explore their motivational bases of behavior or who wish to examine how their childhood experiences influence their current behavior. These therapies tend to be Longer Term Therapies.

For further information or comments about our services:
E-Mail: LIFT516@AOL.COM
Phone: 516-764-2526