My approach is primarily influenced by narrative and solution-focused ideas about psychotherapy and consultation, and attachment theory. It does not have a specific name, as I borrow notions from different practical approaches to intervention.
The most central ideas in my work are: “client expertise”, the role of dominant stories in our lives, the location of problems in our lives, the “cloaking” abilities that problems have, and the role past successes and untapped resources may have in identifying one’s preferred route towards improved functioning.
- “Client expertise”: you are the expert on your life and you determine the direction of therapy. I have no interest in judging or blaming, and strive for the utmost respect for my clients.
- Dominant stories: meaning made from experiences across time and context develop into stories about ourselves. These stories can be positive or negative, but they shape our perceptions, ideas, beliefs, and expectations. They determine which information is attended to (and incorporated into your life story), and which is ignored. These stories can be very powerful, and if they are problem-saturated, may need “re-authoring.”
- Problem location: problems are located outside of people. For example, you are not a hopeless person, hopelessness is a problem that has a profound influence on your life. This is not a meaningless distinction!
- Problems exert their influence on people through the “relationships” people and significant others have with these problems. By uncloaking the tactics, rules, messages, allies, enemies, and relative influence of “problems,” you may expose the problems, and make choices about how you want to interact with them. (Like turning on the light in a cluttered room so that you can stop walking into the furniture!)
- Looking towards previously unrecognized successes and strengths helps people tap into skills and perspectives that already exist in their lives, which simply need more sunlight and oxygen to grow and develop prominence. Examining “unique outcomes” can yield clues that may form the foundation of your preferred future path. This approach helps us stay in the present, focusing on addressing your goals for therapy.