Dr. Aaron's Blog

Solutions Focused Therapy Works And Here Are The Reasons Why!

July 18, 2016 All, Mental Health, Naturopathic Medicine by Aaron Van Gaver

While solution focused therapy is a relatively new concept in the world of mental health, its effectiveness when it comes to treating mental illness and depression cannot be denied. If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health issues and depression, solution focused therapy can work wonders.

What are some of the reasons why this form of therapy is so effective? Let’s take a closer look.

1. Identification of Strengths

Most of us associate therapy with the idea of working on our weaknesses and doing our best to turn them into strengths. By focusing on the things that we are good at, as opposed to dwelling on weaknesses, we are able to get the most out of solutions focused therapy. A solution focus therapist’s job is to help identify these strengths and teach a patient how to use them to their advantage.

When a client is strictly focused on their problems, they are neglecting all of the things that make them great. For example, a patient that is struggling to communicate with others is able to discover the circumstances that lead to their poor communication and fix them, instead of simply dwelling on their struggles.

2. Increased Self Awareness

Everyone has their moments when self awareness is not their strong suit. We all have that friend who thinks that they are great at something and has yet to realize that it is an area where they are in desperate need of self improvement. We tend to forget that it is much easier for us to notice their problems (as opposed to our own), because of our unique point of view and a solution focused therapist is able to view each of us through the same prism.

Chances are high that a solution focused therapy patient has already tried to right their wrongs on more than one occasion. With the help of their therapist, they can learn more about themselves and develop a far greater sense of self awareness. The more we learn about ourselves, the easiest it becomes to reach our goals and objectives.

3. Examining The Link Between Thoughts and Feelings

When we are wrestling with depression and mental health issues, we tend to lose sight of the fact that our thoughts and feelings are closely intertwined. In other words, there is a direct link between the thoughts that go through our heads on a daily basis and the feelings that arise as a result.

Solutions focused therapy teaches a patient to stop thinking negative thoughts about themselves, that these thoughts tend to become a self fulfilling prophecy. They strive to learn more about the thoughts, especially the moments when they are not present. By doing so, a solutions focused therapist uncovers the negative patterns that cause these thoughts to take place.