Why Does The Rpn Use Of Solution Focused Therapy

Psychiatric Nursing – Therapeutic Interventions.

Part Two) how may the RPN use Solution Focused Therapy as a therapeutic Intervention to promote the service users recovery?

Recovery
The concept of recovery in mental health has been defined in a number of ways and intrinsically, is a contested concept. Anthony (1993) labels recovery as a process which is personal and unique. He describes it as a way of living a satisfying, hopeful life that is free from limitations caused by illness. This does not necessarily mean a life completely free from clinical symptoms and medications, but can also be a restoration of one’s self and a further development of purpose in one’s life. Taking control and responsibility for one’s life and empowerment are also
As recovery begins for the person, it is the person themselves who decides what recovery is and what it entails in their own life.

Solution Focused Therapy
Solution focused therapy (SFT), also referred to as Solution Focused Brief Therapy, was developed predominantly from the work of Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and their colleagues at the Brief Family Therapy Centre in Milwaukee, USA (De Shazer et al., 1989). It is a therapy used amongst all age groups and it is utilised in the same manner for all clients. It can be applied to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and their associated issues and is useful in both inpatient and outpatient settings. As the name suggests, solution focused therapy uses an approach based on solution building rather than the typical problem solving approach. Wand (2010) advocates that talking solely about problems and deficits are not sufficient enough to help a client to make a change. The only time SFT focuses on the past is to ascertain what abilities, if any, of the
In order for a nurse to engage in a therapeutic intervention they must have a therapeutic relationship with their client. According to Elder et al. (2012) therapeutic relationships are central to mental health nursing and when engaging the nurse draws upon aspects from their personality, life skills and knowledge base in order to develop a connection with their client. A therapeutic relationship is developed verbally and non-verbally and centrally involves listening. Listening is crucial as it conveys to the client the nurses Engaging in the therapeutic intervention of SFT usually involves the nurse and client coming together for up to six sessions. Evans and Evans (2014) would suggest that it is worth engaging in frequent sessions although the frequency of sessions is negotiated between the nurse and client. McDonald (2007) recommends that a fixed number of sessions could limit the therapy and is unhelpful. Typically, one therapy session lasts fifty minutes and is held weekly. The overriding principle for the nurse facilitating these therapeutic interventions is to do only as much as is required to enable the client to see their own abilities. While solutions are said to be co-created between nurse and client, the nurse should intervene only to the level necessary for the individual client as it is the client themselves who have the