Mickel Hoback

Solution-Focused Therapy

This week’s reading covered Solution-Focused Therapy which is in stark contrast to most other types of therapy in that this one focuses on short-term intervention. Like most other models the worker/client relationship is a vital role however in the solution model not too much time is spent at the onset of the therapy trying to develop the relationship and for this reason has been criticized for not adequately building a working relationship with the client. In this type of therapy the worker focuses on the ending of the intervention right from the start.
The goal of solution-focused therapy is for the client to focus on solutions to their problems and become aware of their resources. Unlike cognitive behavior therapy the worker uses their experience to help connect the client with outside resources in order to alleviate the client’s distress. The social worker’s role is dramatically changed from that of other types of therapy in that the worker will help identify and gain access to outside resources in order to help the client.
After reading this chapter I thought to myself that this sounded like a pretty good type of therapy for helping someone who is in a crisis at that moment, however upon further reading it appears that this is the type on therapy that many non-profit agencies use due to the high number of case loads and low funding inadequacies. This type of therapy reminded me of the first internship I did while here at Southern. I interned at an agency called The Relative Caregiver Program. The goal of the agency was to keep children who are living with relatives other than their parents from entering state custody by offering family advocacy and outreach to the individuals raising these children. The goal of the organization is phenomenal, however after working there it became apparent that many times no such advocacy or outreach was being conducted. Often times I would read through the files and find that the individuals in the case file were also receiving benefits from other organizations which was allowed. Upon being given my case load and talking to several of the families already in the system and families that had heard about the system every single one of them (9 in all) advised this was an easy way in which to get their electricity paid or get appliances for their apartments. It was also troublesome to discover that all the individuals I had spoken with knew each other and were all related in some way. Getting your electricity paid and getting much needed appliances in vital in the upbringing of a child but often times these individuals had several relatives living with them in an effort to gain more money which paid in monthly installments by this agency. This appeared to me to cause dependence on the program and hindered the members from seeking out long term solutions that could help them get on “their own two feet”.
I believe that this type of therapy does have a place along with all the rest but workers need to be careful that they don’t lead the client into a dependence on the services offered. Helping individuals acquire the necessary services that are needed at the moment is a great idea but much like this agency when clients become dependent on the agency as a source of income they are doomed to fail when the inevitable budget cuts come about. I could see using this for my future clients but only as a short term “crutch” and not a 5 to 10 year source of income.