2.00 CE Credits Available
Solution-Oriented Family Therapy
by Bill O'Hanlon
Watch O’Hanlon passionately discuss and demonstrate his innovative approach in this three-part video, which includes an actual therapy session with an intriguing, non-traditional family.
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.
 
If you’re serious about helping your clients change, take advantage of this opportunity to learn from this most optimistic and dynamic therapist.

What therapists are saying…

"I recommend this video and encourage others to view it. It is a wonderful addition to any family therapy program to demonstrate the fundamentals of solution-focused approaches, as well as to show the early resistance to it from different psychotherapy perspectives."

-- John D. Lentz, Reviewed in The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter
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In a field that has a tendency to label and pathologize people, O’Hanlon’s respectful approach is quite refreshing. Whereas many therapists might focus on how this family is dysfunctional, O’Hanlon sees the best in them.

Bill O’Hanlon is the first of several family therapists in this series to conduct a session with this family. You can learn how different therapists approach the same family and the same issues by watching Structural Family Therapy with Harry Aponte and Bowenian Family Therapy with Philip Guerin.

By watching this video, you will:
  • Learn how to describe the principles and techniques of Solution-Oriented Family Therapy.
  • Learn how to apply the three key components of change in Solution-Oriented therapy.
  • Develop new strategies to help families change their habitual interactional patterns.

Length of video: 1:59:00

English subtitles available

Individual ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-239-5

Group ISBN-10 #: 1-60124-240-9

Group ISBN-13 #: 978-1-60124-240-2

Bill O'Hanlon, M.S., LMFT, is a psychotherapist, author, and workshop presenter. He co-developed Solution-Oriented Therapy, has authored or co-authored 30 books, and has given over two thousand workshop presentations in the U.S. and abroad.




CE credits: 2

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the principles and techniques of Solution-Oriented Family Therapy
  • Apply three key components of Solution-Oriented Therapy in your own clinical work
  • Describe strategies to help families change their habitual interactional patterns

Bibliography available upon request

This course is offered for ASWB ACE credit for social workers. See complete list of CE approvals here

© 1998

Course Reviewed January 2024

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