Solution-Oriented Therapy for Chronic and Severe Mental Illness

The idea of brief, solution-oriented therapy for severe mental illness flies in the face of conventional wisdom. But then, so does almost everything else about the psychotherapeutic approach developed by Bill O'Hanlon, coauthor of this groundbreaking book. Concepts such as forming client/therapist partnerships and creatively engaging the person beyond the illness are at radical variance with the mainstream view that disorders such as schizophrenia are completely neurobiological in nature and, hence, impervious to all but a battery of debilitating psychopharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, the long and growing record of inspiring results obtained by the authors of this book and like-minded practitioners speaks for itself. Now, in the first practical guide to solution-oriented interventions with severe mental illness, therapists Tim Rowan and Bill O'Hanlon acquaint readers with the core principles of the solution-oriented model. Also, with the help of many vivid case examples, they describe the proven strategies and techniques they have developed for treating patients suffering from severe depression, schizophrenia, and other severe, chronic, and persistent mental illnesses.
 
Unlike traditional psychotherapeutic models that focus on pathologies and limitations, the solution-oriented approach emphasizes health, competence, and possibilities. Its ultimate goal is to help clients learn to marshal their own resources to deal with their own problems. Consequently, the book describes several "unorthodox" methods such as mining moments of crisis for functional models; exploiting individual and family expertise with mental illness; externalization techniques for helping patients identify the effects of their illnesses and reclaim self-agency; and psycho-education for the prevention of relapses. The authors also provide helpful pointers on how to constructively manage psychotic experiences, as well as violence and the threat of suicide.
 
Solution-Oriented Therapy for