When social workers use solution-focused therapy to work with a client, they employ a variety of principles and techniques. For example, social workers may de-emphasize client problems, look for previous solutions to client problems, and use the compliments technique to work with clients. Using these techniques and others in solution-focused therapy is important to the success of the intervention.
For this Assignment, review the case studies:
Jessica is a 21-year-old college student who comes to the campus counseling center for assistance. Her main concern is a lack of energy and loss of interest in her classes and social activities. She is a junior Psychology major and has a 3.1 grade point average (GPA). She states that, since the beginning of the semester, she has not been attending classes. She estimates she has missed half of her classes in the last 2 weeks.
She reports she uses an alarm clock to wake up and generally sleeps 7- to 8-hours per night. However, this semester, she sets the alarm but does not get up when it goes off in the morning. Instead, she covers up her head and does not get up. She states that she does not go back to sleep but also does not get up and prepare for class. She denies any alcohol or drug use that might have changed her energy level. She visited the health clinic and no physical issues were identified.
The health clinic referred her to you. When asked if she thinks she is depressed, she states, “no, just unmotivated.” She states that there have been no major changes in her life. She feels very guilty about the situation and is afraid, if this behavior continues, she may be risking her education.
Think about intervention and assessment strategies that you might use based on the case study. Consider how you might use compliments and at least one other technique associated with solution-focused therapy to work with the clients in case study you selected.
The assignment (2-3 pages):
Briefly describe the case study you selected.
Explain two strategies you might use to develop an intervention to address issues in the case study.
Explain how you might use the compliments technique and at least one other technique to move the client toward solutions.
Explain why the compliments technique and the other technique you selected could be effective solution-focused therapy techniques to use with clients in the case study.
Share an insight or conclusion you drew about the nature of solution-focused therapy in social work. Support your response with references to the Learning Resources.
