With things back to normal, Paul called the disciples together and encouraged them to keep up the good work in Ephesus. Then, saying his good-byes, he left for Macedonia. Traveling through the country, passing from one gathering to another, he gave constant encouragement, lifting their spirits and charging them with fresh hope. Acts 20:1-2 (Living Bible)
One of the techniques I use in Solution Focused Therapy is scaling. This is a simple idea- one that people use all the time. You know, I ask you to give a rating to something, a movie, a book, a performance. “One to ten, where do you rate that?”
I will ask people to rate their symptoms in that way, such as “On a scale of one to ten, how is your anxiety, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.” This causes the client to really consider the severity of the symptoms, and it gives them a way to report them. More importantly, it gives us a baseline of where we are and where we can go.
So, when we discuss results of homework the next session, we can have a somewhat clearer idea of symptom reduction. Did that homework help? If so, we may be going in a good direction. This also shows the client that there is progress, even if it is a move of one point, or maybe even .5 point. Yes, we can use half-points too!
Solution focused therapy uses practical and simple techniques to achieve basic goals that are small, attainable and measurable. If something works, we keep doing it. If it does not work well, we try something else. The point here is that there is a solution to every problem and we just need to keep trying until we find something that helps.
Giving hope and practical solutions helps the client feel some control over what may have seemed hopeless or unattainable. Our job as counselor is to be that one who comes alongside to give that direction and feedback, as well as giving encouragement to continue when things are hard.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see that there is a solution to every problem if we can see it in proper perspective, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 