Strengths Perspective

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Strengths Perspective

• Counseling 122
• Sheryl Fernandez, M.S.

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What is the strengths perspective?

• Focuses on strengths, abilities, and resources
• Believes that people have the skills to solve
  their own problems
• Suspends expert knowledge

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Seeing Individuals seeking help as Resourceful

• Helpees have the abilities to manage events in
  their lives and they can build upon their
  resources
• Tapping into your helpees own resiliencies

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Using Language in Human Services

• The use of language is an expression of thoughts,
  culture, world view etc.
• The way we frame our words and use language can
  influence the way we work with clients!
• The use of language can be used as an
  intervention when working with clients..
• The way you think about a client will come out in
  words
• Society, culture, experiences, etc. frame our way
  of thinking which frames our way of using
  language
• Avoid using labels (Hes an alcoholic, Shes a
  bi-polar, Hes depressed, Shes anxious, etc.)

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Externalizing Language

• Talking about a problem as separate from the
  person
• How is this problem influencing your life?
• What does this problem want with you?
• What does this problem have you thinking about
  yourself?
• What does this problem have others thinking about
  yourself?
• How is this problem influencing those around you?
• Does this problem work alone or is it in
  collaboration with something else?

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Exception Questions/Getting Rich Descriptions of
Exceptions

• Are their times that this problem is less strong?
• On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least and 10 the
  most) about how much influence does this problem
  have in your life?
• Tell me why the problem doesnt have complete
  influence?
• Can you share moments or stories when the problem
  was less strong?
• Can we talk about those moments?

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Exception Questions Cont

• Exploring with your helpees the exceptions to
  problems reminds individuals seeking help that
  problems are not all-powerful and have not
  existed forever it also provides a field of
  opportunity for evoking resources, engaging
  strengths, and fostering possible solutions.

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Coping Questions

• Useful when helpees seem really disouraged and
  submerged in their difficulties.
• It provides a way of "gently challenging the
  helpees belief system and his/her feelings of
  hopelessness while, at the same time, orienting
  them toward a sense of a small measure of
  success".
• The form of this question is simply to listen to
  the helpees complaints and then ask, "With all
  of that going on, how do you manage to cope?"

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The Miracle Question

• The worker asks, If a miracle happened and the
  problem you have was solved overnight, how would
  you know it was solved, and what would be
  different?
• This question has a future focus in that clients
  can begin to consider a different kind of life
  that is not dominated by a particular problem

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Helpees Expert Knowledge

• What advice might you (helpee) give those that
  are being influenced by this type of problem?
• I am working with a person seeking help that has
  a similar problem. Can you give me some advice
  that I might share with them?

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Strengths Perspective Vignette

• You are working at a school as a human service
  worker. You are referred a 14 year old boy
  because a teacher states he doesnt pay
  attention, he is always talking in class, and he
  doodles in his notebook. He is a slacker! You
  look at his file and realize that he has moved 4
  times in the last 5 years and has been at 3
  different schools prior to this school. You also
  see that he gets high Math and English scores.
  You also realize that he gets As in art class.
  When the student walks into your office you can
  see that he is hip and fashionable. He looks
  you in the eyes and its obvious to you that he
  has no problems expressing himself. He tells you
  that teacher does not like me and his class is
  boring!
• Identify the strengths of this helpees?
• What other information are you interested in
  hearing?
• What questions might you ask to separate the
  problem from this client?
• Identify the helpees possible needs or worries.
• What are your reactions to this situation? What
  difficulties or struggles might you have as a
  helper if you worked with this client?