Solution Focused Therapy 2022

Running head: SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY
SOLUTION-FOCUSED THERAPY
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Author’s Note:

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As opined by Taylor (2019), the construct of counseling had undergone a substantial
amount of transformation or change over the years keeping pace with the changing needs or the
requirements of the patients. Kim, Jordan, Franklin and Froerer (2019) are of the viewpoint that
in the present times the Postmodern or Third Wave counseling modality focuses on offering
specialized patient-centric counseling services to the patients so as to help them in the process of
their recovery in the best possible manner. This is important since in the earlier times it was seen
that the merely focused on the symptoms displayed by the patients and also their past history for
the purpose of offering counseling services to them. However, as discussed by Kim, Brook and
Akin (2018), one of the most important shortcomings associated with this method of counseling
offered by the counselors was the fact that it completely relegated the present and the future
needs of the patients to the background. It is precisely here that the Postmodern or Third Wave
counseling modality becomes important since it tries to overcome the shortcomings or the
limitations of the past or the traditional counseling services offered to the patients (Weatherall &
Gibson, 2015). In this regard, mention needs to be made of the process of solution-based therapy
which is presently being extensively used by the different counselors for offering high quality
treatment to the patients. The purpose of this paper is to undertake a critical analysis of the
Postmodern or Third Wave counseling modality in the particular context of the solution-based
therapy.
Kim, Akin and Brook (2019) are of the viewpoint that the concept of psychotherapy can
be defined as the process through the counselors take the help of the tried and tested
psychological methods so as to help the individuals or the patients to overcome the issues that
they are facing or for that matter to change their behavior. Adding to this, Liu et al. (2015) have
noted that this construct is being used by the psychologists or the counselors in the particular

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context of the patients whom they see on a regular basis for the purpose of offering treatment.
However, the major problem arises because of the fact that the complexity of the modern world
had aggravated the different kinds of psychological issues or problems faced by the individuals
and this in turn had rendered the traditional psychological treatment therapies used by the
counselors less effective (Aminnasab et al., 2018). This in turn had brought about the much
needed change within the field of counseling or psychotherapy wherein it is seen that the
counselors are increasingly resorting to the usage of the Postmodern or Third Wave counseling
modalities for the improvement of the quality of the psychological treatment services which are
being offered by them to the patients (BoVee-Akyurek, Chenail & Erolin, 2019). It is precisely
here that the construct of solution-based therapy gains prominence within the framework of the
contemporary counseling treatment services which are being used by the counselors.
As discussed by Jalali et al. (2018), the solution-based therapy is also called by the name
of solution-based brief and is generally considered to be a goal-directed collaborative approach
to psychotherapeutic change. Hsu et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that this approach to
psychological therapy is being conducted by the psychologists or the counselors on the basis of
the responses which are being given by the patients to a particular set of questionnaire that they
are made to answer before the process of psychological treatment actually begins. In this regard,
it needs to be said that the counselors are required to access the mental condition or the
psychological issues faced by the patients in an effective manner on the basis of the responses
that the patients have provided to the questions of the questionnaire (Gatlin & Bryant, 2016).
More importantly, it is seen that one of the best aspects of this therapy is the fact that the patients
are not required to divulge information regarding the past psychological issues that they have
faced. As a matter of fact, the patients are required to divulge only the kind of information which

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is likely to help the counselors in understanding the problems or the issues faced by them and
thereby offer the required treatment to them (Taylor, 2019). This can be explained on the basis
on the basis of the fact that the focus of this therapy is on the present and the future needs of the
patients rather than on the things that they faced in the past.
According to Johnson et al. (2015), one of the most important aspects of the process of
solution-based therapy is the fact that the individuals rather than being viewed as mere patients
suffering from different kinds of mental issues are being viewed as individuals whose condition
can be improved through the usage of adequate therapy. More importantly, as discussed by
Weatherall and Gibson (2015), an important negative aspect of the traditional psychological
treatment process is the fact that the patients are required to narrate their past traumatic
experiences which makes them relive the concerned experiences and thereby adds on to the pain
or the issues faced by them. However, through the usage of this treatment method the individuals
do not have to retell or for that matter relieve the traumatic experiences since they are not
required to do the same (Hsu et al., 2017). As a matter of fact, all they are required to do is to fill
out the questions which are being given to them at the beginning of the treatment and the
counselors are required to form an idea regarding the gravity or the magnitude of the
psychological problems of the patients on the basis of the same. In addition to these, they are
also required to take the help of adequate psychological treatment measures for relieving the
condition of the patients or resolving the condition of the patients (Liu et al., 2015). Recent
researches have shown that the effective usage of this treatment mechanism had numerous
patients have been able to improve their mental or psychological condition in an effective
manner because of the usage of this treatment mechanism (Kim, Akin & Brook, 2019).

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Hsu et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the people suffering from the problem of
mental illness had to face a significant amount of discrimination within the society of the nation
of Australia on the score of their mental issues that they faced. More importantly, it had been
seen that regardless of the nature of the mental illness or the problems that the individuals faced
they were considered to be mad or for that matter as the kind of individuals who have lost their
sanity (Kim, Brook & Akin, 2018). Furthermore, even the counselors or the mental health
professionals also aggravated the problems faced by the individuals by constantly asking them to
retell their past experiences and also the unintentional discrimination that they meted out to the
patients (Kim, Jordan, Franklin & Froerer, 2019). It is precisely here that the process of solution-
based therapy becomes important from the perspective of the patients who suffer from different
kinds of mental health issues or problems. In this regard, it needs to be said that the usage of this
therapy method does not requires the patients to retell their past experiences and the entire
treatment process is being based on the results of the questions that the patients have filled out.
Furthermore, the individuals patient-centric attention as well as care which is being offered to the
patients ensures the fact that they do not have to face the discrimination that they used to face in
the earlier time and the individual one-on-one treatment process used by the counselors have
substantially contributed towards this (Gatlin & Bryant, 2016). In addition to these, the focus of
the counselors on the present and the future mental health condition of the individuals rather than
the past issues that they have faced helps the counselors to effectively address the treatment
needs or the requirements of the patients.
As opined by Taylor (2019), the counselors for the effective usage of the process of
solution-based therapy need to establish adequate therapeutic relationship with their patients or
clients on the basis of the treatment needs or the requirements of the patients. The counselors for

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the attainment of this end have the option to either establish professional patient-counselor
relationship with the patients or take the help of the process of dual relationship wherein along
with the professional relationship they also maintain a friendly relationship with (BoVee-
Akyurek, Chenail & Erolin, 2019). In this regard, it needs to be said that the construct of dual
relationship which is being used by the counselors is totally a recent development and was not
being used by the counselors in the earlier times. However, at the same time need to be said that
the inculcation of this relationship with the patients, the counselors need to effectively analyze
the emotional as well as the treatment needs of the patients and also take the help of ethics for
the management of the same (Aminnasab et al., 2018). In the light of these aspects, it can be said
that the change in the nature of the relationship that the patients share with the counselors have
been brought about by the effective usage of the process of solution-based therapy.
One of the most important techniques which is being extensively used by the counselors
who take the help of the process of solution-based therapy is the usage of a questionnaire. In this
regard, it needs to be said that this questionnaire is divided into various sections like coping
questions, miracle questions, scaling questions, exception-seeking questions and others which
are intended to help the counselors understand the mental state or the condition of the patients in
an effective manner (Jalali et al., 2018). More importantly, it is seen that the counselors are
required to make the patients understand the fact that the issues that they were facing is already
gone and thus they do not have to worry about the same presently or for that matter in the future.
Furthermore, the counselors are also required to encourage the patients to speak freely the things
that are going on in their lives or the things that are bothering them. This is important because of
the fact that in the majority of the cases it is seen that the individuals are not only able to speak
about their mental issues or for that matter the issues that they face in general and this in turn

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aggravates the problems faced by them (Liu et al., 2015). However, at the same time it needs to
be said that the counselors are required to have the right kind of expertise level so as to
effectively analyze the results of the questionnaire or mental condition of the patients and
thereby offer them the right kind of treatment.
The effective usage of the process of solution-based therapy offers various kinds of
benefits to not only the patients but also the counselors as well. For example, one of the most
important benefits which the usage of the process of solution-based therapy offers to the patients
is the fact that they do not have to recount their past experiences since the therapy focuses on the
present and the future of the patients (Kim, Akin & Brook, 2019). In addition to this, it is seen
that a scientific approach is being followed for the analysis of the issues faced by the patients
which is another strength point of the therapy under discussion here. For example, it is seen that
the patients need to fill out a questionnaire and on the basis of the answers that they have given
in the questionnaire the entire process of treatment is being conducted. More importantly, the
quality of the relationship which the patients share with the counselors had also improved in a
substantial manner because of this therapy process which in turn had substantially improved the
quality of the treatment services that are being offered to the patients (Gatlin & Bryant, 2016).
However, the benefits of the process of solution-based therapy notwithstanding there are various
weaknesses of the same as well. For example, it is seen that the quality of the treatment offered
to the patients depends on the answers that they have filled in the questionnaire. Thus, if the
patients provide inaccurate answers then this can adversely affect the quality of the treatment
which is being offered to them (Johnson et al., 2015). Secondly, it had been seen that some of the
counselors miss-utilize the construct of dual relationship which in turn can once again affect the
quality of treatment.

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To conclude, the process of solution-based therapy had emerged as one of the most
methods, which is being used by the counselors in the present times for offering quality
treatment services to the patients. More importantly, it is seen that this treatment mechanism tries
to overcome the counseling processes which were used in the earlier times by improving the
mechanism which is being used for offering treatment to the patients and also the nature of the
relationship that the patients share with the counselors. These aspects of the process of solution-
based therapy become apparent from the above analysis.

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