How do people get happy? That is the question that inspired pioneer Bill O’Hanlon to become a therapist and devote his life to respectfully and effectively helping people change through Solution-Oriented Therapy. Unlike many therapies that tend to focus on problems and explanations, Solution-Oriented Therapy (also known as Possibility Therapy) is an exciting, optimistic, and non-pathologizing model that taps into people’s potential to change.
Pam is a woman in her thirties who lives at home with her retired father, Adrian, and her working mother, Judy. Adrian and Judy are fed up with the way Pam always slams doors, mumbles, and walks away when they ask her questions or tell her what to do. According to Adrian, “She won’t talk to us about nothing!” In this live family therapy session, O’Hanlon helps this struggling family improve their communication by shining a light on their habitual interactional patterns, thus enabling them to begin to relate to each other more effectively. As O’Hanlon warmly engages and gently challenges each family member, he demonstrates some of the key aspects of Solution-Oriented Therapy, such as:
- attending primarily to the present and future,
- acknowledging feelings,
- the three key components of change, and
- focusing on exceptions and possibilities.
This video is part of the 10-video series, Family Therapy with the Experts. Other self-study videos in this series include:
- Adlerian Family Therapy
- Bowenian Family Therapy
- Empowerment Family Therapy
- Integrative Family Therapy
- Narrative Family Therapy
- Object-Relations Family Therapy
- Satir Family Therapy
- Solution-Oriented Family Therapy
- Structural Family Therapy
- Value-Sensitive Therapy
