The Solution Focused Strengths Based approach

Along with my trauma focused work , massage and reflexology ,the other approach I like to take with clients is a Solution Focused Strengths Based approach .

This therapy, while having optimism at its core ,doesn’t mean encouraging clients to look for answers through rose colored glasses.

For many,recognizing their strengths doesn’t come easily however it is often when facing our pain and fears that we find strengths we didn’t know we had .

As a therapist who is trying to help a client who is in distress, there are times when words are not enough .

At those times I tend to use art as a visual metaphor which I hope may help to open a window into a sorrow that can’t be expressed in words.

These prompts invite discussion around aspects of relationships , friends, work which may be difficult to talk about and which may have become “ shadows “ in our lives.

Shadows can be negative feelings about ourselves , parts we’d rather keep “ in the dark “ similar to a shadow…always there but not often acknowledged by us .

However ,growth and development requires that we recognise both positive and negative parts of ourselves ….and if we don’t the shadow will make itself known anyway ie. we may be begin to upset friends, blame others and lose control of our coping mechanisms.

This work can be painful but the client is always in charge of the process.