Toward a Theory of Constraints (original) (raw)

The Solution-Focused Therapy Model: The First Session; Part 1

Solution-Focused Therapy: Theory, Research & Practice

The Solution-focused Therapy Model: the First Session; Part 1 Contents • Assumptions affecting the context of solution-focused therapy • The structure of the first session • Problem • Pre-session changes • Goals • Exceptions • Scales • The miracle question This chapter describes and explains the logic of the first session in solutionfocused brief therapy, following the above sequence for reasons that will be analysed in the text. Chapter 2 pursues the break and subsequent sessions, followed by discussion of a number of specialist aspects of solution-focused work. All that is necessary is that the person involved in a troublesome situation does something different. (de Shazer, 1985, p. 7) 02-Macdonald-2e-4236-Ch-01.indd 7 02/05/2011 6:47:20 PM 02-Macdonald-2e-4236-Ch-01.indd 8 02/05/2011 6:47:20 PM The Structure of the First Session When arranging the session it can be useful to tell your clients that family or friends can come to the appointment if it will be helpful. It is most productive to work with those who want to make changes or who can provide resources. In this, solution-focused therapy differs from family therapy because in most family therapy it is customary to see all family members even if they are disruptive or do not want to make changes. It is also useful to ask clients to note what changes they make prior to the first session. To do so implies that change is inevitable and that clients will themselves be active in promoting changes.

Problem Centered Systems Therapy of the Family

Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1981

The &man& upon clinicians, teachers and researchers in the family therapy field all point to the need for clear descriptions of conceptual orientations and the specifics of the therapy process. The model presented in this article grew out of research and clinical work which led to a shEft in focus from specific therapist interventions to the major steps in the overall treatmentprocess. The major stages of Assessment, Contracting, lkeatment and Closure each contain a sequence of sub-steps. Each step is operationally described and has clear objectives which facilitate open collaboration between therapist and family, and provide the family with a problem solving model. The model developed in the context of short term and focused clinical work. It offers aguide for the basic treatment approach to be used by beginners as well as the foundation and infrastructure for the work of advanced therapists.

Toward a Generative Theory of the Therapeutic Field

Family process, 1987

In the various models of family therapy, family systems are described as being patterned and programmed in their operations and development. The regularities and patterns found in family life are believed to be the expression of a program that determines the behavior of the family system and each of its members. Therapists holding this view will use “programming methods” in order to map family phenomena, and therapeutic work will consist of disrupting the problematic sequences in a deterministic way. However, if we take into consideration the impossibility of always linking inputs and outputs and the inability to evaluate consistently the behaviors in a system, problems associated with indeterminancy appear. Under such conditions, it may be impossible for therapists to formulate programs of family functioning. Therefore, we have operationalized a set of methodological principles that can be applied in such conditions. In this article we present the theoretical and practical implications for the field of therapy of “nonprograming methods.” A videotaped session is analyzed in order to show the application of the nonprogramming methods in clinical practice.

Theory of constraints: is it a theory and a good one?

International Journal of Production Research, 2013

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Integrative Problem Centered Metaframeworks (IPCM) Therapy II: Planning, Conversing and Reading Feedback

Family Process, 2011

This is the second of 2 articles presenting Integrative Problem Centered Metaframeworks (IPCM) Therapy, a multisystemic, integrative, empirically informed, and common factor perspective for family, couple, and individual psychotherapy. The first article presented IPCM's foundation concepts and Blueprint for therapy, focusing on the first Blueprint componentFHypothesizing or assessment. This article, focusing on intervention, presents the other 3 Blueprint componentsFPlanning, Conversing, and Feedback. Articulated through the Blueprint, intervention is a clinical experimental process in which therapists formulate hypotheses about the set of constraints (the Web) within a client system that prevents problem resolution, develop a therapeutic Plan based on those hypotheses, implement the Plan through a coconstructed dialogue with the clients, and then evaluate the results. If the intervention is not successful, the results become feedback to modify the Web, revise the Plan, and intervene again. Guided by the therapeutic alliance, this process repeats until the presenting problems resolve. IPCM Planning sequentially integrates the major empirically and yet-to-be empirically validated therapies and organizes their key strategies and techniques as common factors. Conversing and Feedback employ empirical STIC s (Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change) data collaboratively with clients to formulate hypotheses and evaluate interventions. This article emphasizes the art and science of IPCM practice.

A formulation model for use in family therapy

A model for simplifying complex information about a given presenting problem and integrating it into a formulation is described in this paper. The model contains three columns. In the right hand column, the cycle of interaction containing the symptom or presenting problem in which the identified patient and members of the network are caught up, is set out. In the left hand column, factors which predispose participants in this cycle to persist in this repetitive sequence of interactions are noted. In the central column (where pertinent) cognitive factors which mediate the influence of predisposing factors upon the present cycle of activity are listed. A sample formulation is first given to demonstrate the way in which the model may be used to simplify and integrate information. The implications of the model, from a clinical perspective, for assessment, treatment planning and the management of resistance, are then illustrated with a detailed case example.