Postmodern Approach

Postmodern

 

 

 

What is it?

Postmodern therapy focuses on deconstructing common beliefs and examining their value in an individual’s life.

 

 

Key Figures

Insoo Kim Berg

(1935 - 2007)

 

Steve de Shazer

(1940 - 2005)

 

Michael White

(1949 - 2008)

 

David Epston

(b.1944)

 

The Basic Philosophies:

• Based on the premise that there multiple realities and multiple truths.
• Postmodern therapies reject the idea that reality is external and can be grasped.
• People create meaning in their lives through conversations with others.
• The postmodern approaches avoid: pathologies clients, avoid searching for underlying causes of problems, and place a high value on discovering clients' strengths and resources.
• Rather than talking about problems, the focus of therapy is on creating solutions in the present and the future.

Key Concepts:

• Therapy tends to be brief and addresses the present and the future.
• The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem.
• The emphasis is on externalizing the problem an looking for exceptions to the problem.
• Therapy consists of a collaborative dialogue in which the therapist and the client co-create solutions.
• By identifying instances when the problem did not exist, clients can create new meaning for themselves and fashion a new life story.

Goals:

• To change the way clients view problems and what they can do about concerns.
• To collaboratively established; specific, clear, concrete, realistic, and observable goals leading to increase positive change.
• To help clients create a self identity grounded on competence and resourcefulness so they can resolve present and future concerns.
• To assist clients in viewing their lives in positive ways, rather than being problem saturated.

Techniques:

• Pre-therapy change
• The miracle questions
• Scaling questions
• Exception questions 

 

 

 

 

References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole.