There are various concepts that focus on family therapy. The success of any therapeutic regimen depends on the input of the therapist. Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that employs narratives as part of its healing mechanism. In ‘solution focused therapy’ (SFT), the patient’s goal forms the basis of the therapeutic approach. SFT (also known as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) is “an approach to psychotherapy based on solution building rather than problem-solving” (Walter & Peller, 2013).
Both narrative therapy and SFT are approaches that apply to different therapeutic disorders. However, while narrative therapy is a long-drawn process, SFT is a short healing process. There are both similarities and differences between narrative therapy and SFT. This paper compares and contrasts SFT and narrative therapy with a focus on the role of the therapist in both therapeutic approaches.
The SFT approach focuses on a patient’s future goals as opposed to focusing on current and past problems. SFT normally lasts for approximately three sessions and therapists usually use it a preamble for other therapeutic methods. SFT is primarily a family-focused therapeutic approach and it traces its origins to a family therapy center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The researchers behind SFT prefer it for its effectiveness in employing a client’s solution in the treatment regimen. Narrative therapy seeks to compel patients to get in touch with their life experiences and decipher positive aspects from this process.
The main goal of narrative therapy is to “center people as the experts in their own lives” (Santos, Gonçalves & Matos, 2011). Moreover, the research on narrative therapy assumes that the patient is the only one who is privy to information about his/her life experiences and the resulting feelings. Unlike SFT, narrative therapy is usually an ongoing process and it is not aimed at achieving quick results. In narrative therapy, the goal is to let the client know that their experiences are valid (Nichols & Schwartz, 1998). In addition, narrative therapy ensures that a client’s understanding of self is well understood by the therapist.
Advancements in SFT research have promoted a shift from the counseling technique that sought to explore the exceptions to a client’s problem. Nowadays, therapists who use the SFT approach take an “interest in what the client is already doing that might help achieve the solution” (Walter & Peller, 2013). However, therapists are advised to gauge their client’s level of motivation when using the SFT approach. Therapists who use SFT in their practice often employ scales that can track a client’s progress.
For example, a therapist can use a scale of 1 to 10 when gauging a client’s progress in relation to his/her goals. Therapists can also use scales to help a client point to his/her current position and the position he/she expects to reach after undergoing SFT. In SFT, a therapist must focus on a client’s valuable resources and strengths and highlight them in the solution-finding mission. Research has shown that complimenting a client on his/her strengths reduces the recovery process drastically.
Therapists recognize that narrative therapy turns them into consultants and collaborators who seek to derive meanings from a client’s life experiences. Studies have shown that “therapists who engage in the collaborating and consulting process with clients give these patients more authority and control of their lives and hopefully will move them towards a preferred way of looking at their situations” (Santos, Gonçalves & Matos, 2011). Narrative therapists are required to act as unknowing and non-assuming agents in the therapeutic process. Therefore, modern narrative therapy acts as tool for producing the information that is to be used by the therapist.
References
Nichols, M. P., & Schwartz, R. C. (1998). Family therapy: Concepts and methods. New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.
Santos, A., Gonçalves, M. M., & Matos, M. (2011). Innovative moments and poor outcome in narrative therapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 11(2), 129-139.
Walter, J. L., & Peller, J. E. (2013). Becoming solution-focused in brief therapy. New York, NY: Routledge.