Strength-Based Therapy: A Case Study

When people seek therapy, they are almost always at a point of desperation and hopelessness. Without hope the possibility of change is nearly impossible. Hope drives motivation. “if clients have hope for counseling as an effective change process, they will also be autonomously motivated to engage fully in the therapeutic process” (Bartholomew, Scheel, & Cole, 2015). Hope within the therapeutic process goes together with well-being. Scientific studies have shown that hope based therapy prevents suicide and leads to psychological alignment. Bartholomew, Scheel, and Cole (2015) go on to describe hope as a “cognitive process with an emotion feedback system in which people are reuninted toward reasonable, challenging goals”. Snyder… defined hope

Wubblding (2015) defined reality therapy as “a system that counselor’s use to liberate clients and help them make realistic choices to more effectively satisfy their needs within their limitations”. Reality therapy is strength-based and requires therapist to review their clients as individuals who can achieve their goals. The idea behind choice theory is that human motivation is intentional. Humans have the power to bounce back from environmental adversity and in the moment, have the choice to behave in a way that meets their needs in the future. Glasser identified seven unhealthy habits (blaming, bribing, criticizing, complaining nagging, threatening and punishing), or deadly habits, and replace them with the seven caring habits (supporting listening encouraging accepting, trusting respecting and negotiating differences). It is important to note that choice theory does not discredit how one’s past can shape their character. However, instead of focusing on the negativity and brokenness of the past, choice theory focuses on the here and now and how the clients current behaviors can help them attain well-being in the future. Wubbolding (2015) says it best, “we are products of our past, our current choices result from the here-and-now