Introduction
Raj, an 18-year-old male patient, is experiencing symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The current signs of mental illness prompted Tina (Raj’s girlfriend) to advise him to visit a wellness and counseling facility. The case study provided in class highlights the story, and from the excerpt, learners can provide solutions to the isolated psychological disorder. In this case, the revised DSM-5 diagnostic criteria will assist students in assessing the client’s health alongside recommended treatment plans.
According to Brower (2021), a patient can be diagnosed with MDD if they exhibit more than five symptoms over two weeks, from which medical physicians and psychiatrists can identify the source of the issues. MDD symptoms include depressed emotions, weight loss, exhaustion, loss of joy in activities, retardation, reduced focus, suicidal thoughts, and feelings of worthlessness (Brower, 2021). Although the disorder can be treated through medication, MDD patients can depend on Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) and Person-Centered Approach (PCA) to reduce the symptoms. As a result, a critique of the therapy and approach exposes readers to understanding the origins, evolution, relationships, outline, and applications of SFT and PCA in psychological practice.
Solution-Focused Therapy
Origins
SFT has an exciting history that links its origin between 1940 and 2005. Kittelson et al. (2019) elaborate that solution-focused therapy was developed in the Milwaukee Brief Family Therapy Center (MBFTC) by Steve de Shaze, Insoo Kim Berg, and other colleagues. The climax of the development of the SFT started between the 1970s and 1980s at the MBFTC. Kustyarini (2021) argues that the goals of solution-focused therapy are future-oriented; clients subjected to the form of treatment turn out to be the happiest patients because it concentrates on resolving current problems. The outcomes of quality services inspired the founders of the SFT to develop the program in mental health departments.
According to Kawahara (2021), de Shazer, Berg, and other colleagues constructed the therapy in the 1980s to effect change in people’s lives. Hundreds of clients were involved in the research to satisfy the developers’ needs in responding to mental health disorders. The team made observations about presenting symptoms and cases related to psychological disorders before providing the counseling outline.
The central objective of the SFT involves identifying the best practices in treating patients. The therapy developers stressed that monitoring patients’ behavior patterns does not guarantee quality service in solution development. However, the team suggested that assisting clients in understanding their current problems created better avenues for limiting the reoccurrence of future healthcare challenges (Kustyarini, 2021).
Evolution
SFT has evolved over the years, and clinicians have introduced better approaches to implementing the therapy into practice. Firstly, the developers explored thousands of questions in isolating the exceptions of the treatment to particular groups. Secondly, the MBFTC obtained support from the UK Association for Solution-Focused Center in expanding the usage and research of SFT in psychology.
The evolution of SFT is visible from the array of services offered by the therapy. Initially, SFT was a systematic family therapy program focused solely on the client’s interactional patterns. The outcome of Worcester Mental Health Center’s research on SFT in counseling stressed that the approach changed when the developers introduced the inspection of the changing behavioral patterns of patients in counseling (Kittelson et al., 2019). Counselors using SFT adopted the ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein in the construction of languages for the success of dialogue therapies. SFT transitioned into a real philosophical thought that improved people’s perceptions of truth.
Clients with mental illness can efficiently address their problems precisely without fear and shame after the therapy model evolved into a real-life solution provider rather than an inquiry-oriented tool (Kawahara, 2021). Lastly, SFTs evolved into a therapy system that considers clients’ beliefs about their well-being. The counseling method can adopt changes in therapy because it accepts and respects patients’ cultures, values, and beliefs in their treatment.
Person-Centered Approach
The person-centered approach highlights people’s problems as inherently flawed things characterized by irritating behavioral and thought patterns. Carl Rogers developed PCA in the 1940s and is popularly known as Rogerian therapy (Fazio et al., 2020). On the one hand, Delgadillo and Gonzalez (2020) stress that Rogerian therapy believes everyone has the capacity for growth and change. On the other hand, the client-centered approach prioritizes the self-actualization of human inclination in tackling problematic behaviors.
The counseling approach’s origin dates back to the 1940s when its founder diverged therapy from the traditional model to a more adaptive and modern concept (Fazio et al., 2020). The explanations about the potential of human beings to fulfill their capacities in the social environment changed the perspective of PCA in contemporary medical and mental health practice. Rogerian therapy suggests that human beings have vast resources that enable them to understand their emotions, feelings, and behaviors.
Application of Theories to Patient
The counselor handling Raj’s psychological illness can adopt SFT and PCA to solve the patient’s depressive problem. However, attaining the treatment goals starts with creating a good relationship between the client and the counselor. PCA suggests several factors are needed to strengthen the bonds between the patient and therapists. Relationships between counselors and customers are required to accomplish good personal changes. Therefore, creating therapist-client psychological contact is critical to establishing strong therapeutic relationships.
Secondly, PCA promotes strong ties between patients and therapists through client incongruence. Raj’s counselor can adopt the policy to improve the patient’s self-image and the experiences that led him to MDD. On the contrary, SFT helps clients to understand their abilities and strengths during counseling. The relationships between psychiatrists and clients can be boosted in SFT through motivation. For example, increasing clients’ self-confidence through incentives promotes the development of a healthy connection with the counselor.
Comparison of Theories
The person-centered approach and solution-focused therapy achieve psychological solutions for patients differently. Firstly, PCA is a non-directive approach used in counseling because it adopts practices of reflection based on genuineness and acceptance of empathetic communications (Kittelson et al., 2019). Counselors using PCA focus on individual problems without consideration of past and future projections.
However, SFT is complex because it incorporates solutions to unforeseen challenges in counseling. For instance, if a patient presents symptoms of emotional disturbance, the therapists handling such cases are subjected to predicting potential problems based on the current symptoms. The critical function of SFT is the attainment of permanent solutions with the consideration of future challenges. Secondly, solution-focused therapy helps a client to accept changes, while PCA is concerned about the individual well-being of a client based on current symptoms.
PCA and SFT are similar because both approaches assist patients in regaining stable emotional and mental fitness. The counseling approaches concentrate on Kawahara (2021), who recommends SFT and PCA as the best tools for creating awareness of the client’s strengths and abilities. Awareness of the dangers of emotional, psychological, and physical disorders best works through adopting PCA and SFT because their policies focus on the prevention of problems. In both cases, counselors require the cooperation and participation of clients in achieving a productive treatment model.
Ethical Issues to Be Considered
The following ethical issues will be applied during therapy sessions between Raj and his counselor.
- Interdependent environments: The counselor should develop an interdependent climate to boost his relationship with Raj. Nittari et al. (2020) highlight that ethics protects the welfare of clients and counselors by elaborating on appropriate codes and standards of interactions. Therefore, interdependent environments promote the adaptability of the patient in submitting his problems honestly.
- Embodiment: The counselor must make the client’s feelings visible.
- Respect: Mutual respect must be considered during all sessions to promote a healthy working environment.
- Sincerity: Trustworthiness and transparency are vital ethical needs in counseling.
- Integrity.
Legal Issues to Be Considered
The counselor will ensure that the following legal matters are covered in the therapy:
- Practice with legal credentials: The mental health care centers handling Raj’s case should not operate without legal credentials, such as a license.
- Information privacy of the client: The counselor or facility management must keep Raj’s information private from public and third-party access without being conscious of it.
- Therapeutic relationships: For smooth therapy sessions, the connection between Raj and the psychiatrist should be friendly. Both parties should respect each other’s views and multicultural values.
Therapy
Person-centered approaches can improve Raj’s symptoms through a set of procedures. The counselor adopting the approach should train Raj to master the concepts of empathetic understanding, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard before embarking on therapy sessions. In addition, the counselor should set clear boundaries, act on a sound board, avoid judgmental moods, and concentrate on Raj’s problem to effectively adopt PCA. In contrast, the psychiatrist should state the desires of the therapy, envision future happenings, set small goals, and define the changes needed in Raj’s case when using SFT.
SFT and PCA have different expectations at the end of counseling. On the one hand, if the counselor incorporates PCA, Raj is expected to experience a positive outcome in perceiving the idealized and actual self. Moreover, the client will better understand himself and the awareness tied to MDD.
On the other hand, the therapist will be able to effectively measure Raj’s wandering and aggressive behaviors if SFT is implemented. Solution-focused therapy improves the quality of life and mental health outcomes by adjusting the disorder’s diagnostic criteria. PCA and SFT contribute positively to the recovery and healing of a patient; Raj should register for three PCA therapies in a week and four SFT counseling sessions in a month.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Raj’s psychological illness bears the characteristics of Major Depressive Disorder. The client can be treated using numerous approaches and theories, but the case study prioritizes using SFT and PCA. The history and evolution of the models and therapies associated with Raj are necessary for critiquing PCA and SFT.
Both approaches have the goal of focusing on the exceptions to problems. Nevertheless, PCA cares about the individual gains of a patient, while SFT projects solutions for future challenges of the diagnosed conditions. Solution-focused therapy best suits Raj’s MDD more than PCA because SFT works actively to alter current challenges at a lesser cost and time.
References
Brower, K. J. (2021). Professional stigma of mental health issues: physicians are both the cause and solution. Academic medicine, 96(5), 635. Web.
Delgadillo, J., & Gonzalez P., S. D. (2020). Targeted prescription of cognitive–behavioral therapy versus person-centered counseling for depression using a machine learning approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(1), 14–24. Web.
Fazio, S., Zimmerman, S., Doyle, P. J., Shubeck, E., Carpenter, M., Coram, P., Klinger, J. H., Jackson, L., Pace, D., Kallmyer, B., & Pike, J. (2020). What is really needed to provide effective, person-centered care for behavioral expressions of dementia? Guidance from The Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Provider Roundtable. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21(11), 1582–1586. Web.
Kawahara, M. (2021). Exploring the effects of mental imagery in the solution focused approach. Open Journal of Medical Psychology, 10(02), 36–46. Web.
Kittelson, A. J., Hoogeboom, T. J., Schenkman, M., Stevens-Lapsley, J. E., & van Meeteren, N. L. U. (2019). Person-centered care and physical therapy: A “people-like-me” approach. Physical Therapy, 100(1), 99–106. Web.
Kustyarini, K. (2021). The role of language in supporting the effectiveness of solution focused therapeutic counseling. European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies, 5(1), 35–46. Web.
Nittari, G., Khuman, R., Baldoni, S., Pallotta, G., Battineni, G., Sirignano, A., Amenta, F., & Ricci, G. (2020). Telemedicine practice: Review of the current ethical and legal challenges. Telemedicine and E-Health, 26(12), 1427–1437. Web.