Resistant Therapy Strategies

Differences: Strategies for Resistant Clients Unlike narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy presumes that some clients will be resistant to counselling and to change. While some clients are described as 'customers' who voluntarily want to make changes in their lives, not every client will present in this way (Corcoran, 2008). Solution-focused therapy strategizes for 'complainants', people who attend voluntarily but are convinced someone else or something outside of themselves needs to change, and 'visitors' who are non-voluntary, mandated clients whose only goal is to end therapy (Corcoran, 2008). For complainants, the social worker will employ questions and strategies that focus on coping skills. This will still provide an opportunity
In both therapies, the conversational abilities of the social worker are relied upon, while the postmodern premise of the social worker as the 'expert' about the client is rejected (Anderson & Goolishian 1988; Buckman et al., 2008; Corcoran, 2008). In narrative therapy, the focus is on collaborative conversations and hearing client stories rather than scientific methods, assessment, or interventions (Buckman et al., 2008). However, social workers are skilled in the use of questions to guide the conversation and process (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Buckman et al., 2008). This concept is similar for solution-focused therapy where 'joining' describes the process in which the client and the social worker develop a positive and cooperative relationship (Corcoran, 2008). In this relationship, the social worker does not intervene, rather they demonstrate acceptance of the client's perspectives and proposed solutions (Corcoran, 2008). Similarly, the social worker in solution-focused therapy is also skilled in asking questions, including the miracle question and scaling, but they are not experts about the client's life (Corcoran, 2008). The social worker uses language to influence how the client views their problem, recognizes their strengths, and understands solutions or alternatives (Corcoran, 2008). Both therapies are led by the client, thus,
However, this changes the relationship between the client and the social worker, specifically in narrative therapy. In families for instance, each individual has a personal narrative in addition to the family narrative. Furthermore, the larger cultural and societal meta-narratives affect both individuals and their families (Miller & Forrest, 2009). "The narrative family counselor's goal is to assist clients in co-constructing narratives that better fit the individual goals, while aligning with the family's goals and objectives" (Miller & Forrest, 2009, p. 159). Alternatively, in solution-focused therapy, there are strategies in place when working with groups or families whose members have different goals or willingness to change. As mentioned previously, a social worker using solution-focused therapy would incorporate strategies intended for 'complainants' and 'visitors' to address these differences (Corcoran, 2008). The ability to manage groups or families requires the social worker to be knowledgeable about the theory being used and may take