With today ‘s article we focus again on a fundamental methodological aspect to make the Single Session Therapy interview more effective and efficient .
We know that SST is a focused intervention that aims to achieve a specific goal through a single meeting. For this reason, it is important that during the interview both the therapist and the client make the best use of the time spent together.
In order to maintain attention on the final focus, the therapist will have a fundamental task , which is to help the client to focus on a problem that can be solved rather than on a problem that cannot be solved (Dryden, 2019).
What is meant by a solvable problem or an unsolvable problem?
A problem that can be solved is a situation that the person is able to change because it is under their control and they are ready to deal with immediately (e.g. managing anxiety about speaking in public). A problem that cannot be solved, on the other hand, is a problem that is outside of the person’s control (e.g. I would like my partner to stop criticizing me) or a problem that, although it is under their control, they are not ready to deal with it for various reasons (e.g. changing jobs, but not yet having a plan to deal with the economic aspects that will arise).
How can we help customers focus on what they can actually control?
When people come to therapy they complain about the adversities they have to face . These problems can represent interpersonal behaviors put in place by others or negative life events . A crucial step, therefore, is to help clients understand what they really have control over and what they do not:
- People, for example, cannot have control over how others behave , nor over those events or situations that hinder them from their goals .
- What they can have control over, however, are their interpretations , beliefs and attitudes towards issues and how to act towards them .
Let’s give some examples of how the therapist can help people identify problems that can be acted upon?
If a person asks for help because of the fear of public speaking and the anxiety that comes from it , we can immediately evaluate together with the person that this problem will be addressed within the single interview. Therapist and client, for example, can immediately start working on those behaviors acted out by the person in order to solve the problem presented, but which involuntarily keep it active . The therapist can, therefore, help the client to notice how the avoidance of feared situations , such as meetings, job interviews and social conversations, as well as the control of physical sensations experienced in such circumstances (heartbeat, sweating, redness on the face, feeling of not finding the right words) will do nothing but exacerbate the problem itself. From this comparison the person can begin to change perspective on his problem and through appropriate strategies block the dysfunctional solutions put in place (Watzlawick, Weakland, Fisch, 1974), in favor of a new way of perceiving and reacting to feared situations. This will lead the person to regain functional control over the internal and external events that happen to him.
But what if the person brings a series of problems or a problem that he or she will not be able to deal with at that time?
People may come to the interview with a series of problems still to be selected or with a single problem already selected from many, but which they may not feel ready to tackle quickly.
How do you proceed in this case?
A key maneuver in this circumstance will be represented by the following question:
- Which problem would you like to solve as quickly as possible, and which of these are you willing to focus all your energy on addressing?
Conclusions
“Since the problem was not immediately solvable, it did not matter much whether it was expressed correctly! ”, to conclude this article, therefore, we borrow the words of Lewis Carroll with the intent of inviting Single Session therapists to transmit trust to their clients , constantly guiding them in the selection of those problems that are truly solvable and on which they will be able to act in a short time.
Angelica Giannetti Psychologist, Psychotherapist Team of the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy
Bibliography
Dryden, W. (2019). Single – Session Therapy (SST). 100 points & techniques . Routledge.
Watzlawick P., Weakland JH, Fisch, R. (1974). Change: the formation and solution of problems . Rome: Astrolabio.