WEEK 12 DISCUSSION ON PERSONAL THERAPY

The purpose of this discussion post is to describe the style of therapy that I intend to provide as a nurse psychotherapist as part of my PMHNP role and also provide the reason behind my choice. My choice of therapy is solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). This choice was made after careful consideration, self-reflection, and research, and the reasons behind this choice are hereby discussed. SFBT is my choice of therapy because it can be used to treat clients of all ages, ethnicities, cultural background, educational backgrounds, socioeconomic status, differing ideological spectrum, and mental health problems, including child behavioral problems, family dysfunction, substance abuse problems, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and relationship problems. Central to SFBT therapy is focusing on what is going well for the patient, and maximizing and potentiating that aspect of the client’s life rather than focusing on their weakness, challenges, inadequacies, and inconsistencies. This approach ensures that clients focus on their strengths, coping strategies, and abilities rather than their problems. This therapy modality is goal-oriented, brief, specific, and efficacious. The goals of therapy are quickly developed in collaboration and consistent dialogue with the client in order to reach a desirable outcome. This collaboration is integral to the success of therapy because clients are more committed and motivated to engage in solutions that they explored and developed themselves rather than one that has been imposed on them by the therapist. Moreover, in solution-focused therapy goals are specific, concrete, achievable, and measurable.Incorporated in the solution-focused brief therapy modality is an opportunity for the therapist and client to evaluate the entire therapy process. Goals, solutions, and outcomes are evaluated to determine if they were successful in eliciting behavior change. If the interventions are not successful, the next strategies are immediately identified and explored in a way that ensures that the client is at the center of the entire process. SFBT empowers clients to believe in their ability to be drivers in the change process, clients are encouraged to identify exceptions to their problems thereby giving them hope and the reassurance that their problems will ultimately be resolved. In conclusion, SFBT is my therapeutic modality of choice because it is short-term, and in situations where there is a need for a quick resolution of a client’s problem such as in some psychiatric emergencies, a brief therapy such as this is more suitable and effective.