Coping.org:
Tools for Coping
with Life's
Stressors
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A
Therapy Truism
How
many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?
Just
one, but the light bulb has to want to be changed.
How
do therapists motivate clients to overcome their resistance to change within the
therapeutic process, has taxed therapists for years. Research says that clients
stay in treatment for from six to ten sessions and that they report maximum
gains after three to six sessions and that brief therapy models have been found
to have no significant difference in their effectiveness than those of long term
therapy models (Budman & Gurman, 1988; Cummings, 1986; Budman & Stone,
1983). Budman and Gurman (1988) emphasize that brief therapy’s pragmatism and
eclectism make it effective. Therapists who hold to a brief therapy model have
values and beliefs about what can and cannot be accomplished in therapy. Brief
therapy advocates believe that effective therapy results in the resolution of
the current problems and not in the major modification of personality or
character structure. Brief therapists believe that their job is to fix leaks
rather than build a custom designed house form the group up. Gelso and Johnson
(1983) emphasize that short-term therapists exhibit behavior which reflects
confidence in the efficacy of the brief therapy model, establish challenging but
limited goals for treatment, work toward insight but also facilitate behavior
change, and believe that their primary goal is to initiate a healing process
that can continue throughout the clients’ lives.
Eclectic
Structural Brief Therapy (ESBT) developed over twenty-five years by this author
(Messina, 2001), is a model of brief therapy defined by the collaborative
attitude of both the therapist and the “light bulbs” that are seeking such
therapy. Most people do not engage counselors and therapists because they desire
a lengthy process to uncover all subconscious and conscious drives which affect
their mental health. They seek out therapy because they are in some form of
crisis, which affects their mental well, being. They want to find coping
strategies, which will assist them to alleviate their currently experienced
pain. The ESBT model of therapy helps clients identify whether or not they are
“light bulbs” wanting to be changed and if a match exists in temperament and
personality style with the therapist. If there is the right mix of motivation
and simpatico between clients and therapist then a change can occur in a brief
period of time. If there is not a match, therapists need to encourage their
clients to not pursue therapy at this time until they recognize they have a
readiness and willingness to do what it takes to change so that they can become
“turned on light bulbs.”
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Coping.org
is a Public Service of James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance M. Messina, Ph.D.,
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