Problem Solving Therapy: Operation And Characteristics
On many occasions, problems turn out to be a source of stress that reduces our personal well-being. To solve them, it was born in 1971 Problem Solving Therapy the most accepted model of problem solving in psychotherapy, formulated by D’Zurilla and Goldfried.
This is a type of therapy aimed at that the patient learns to identify his problem and create effective strategies to solve it , through learning a series of skills, while the therapist advises you on their implementation. Let’s see what phases the therapy proposes and what each one consists of.
D’Zurilla and Goldfried’s therapy is born from the influences of previous models such as the social competence model, the cognitive-behavioral approach, the Transactional Model of stress and interest in creativity.
According to the authors, the term “solution or problem resolution” implies those cognitive or manifest processes that offer a variety of effective alternative responses to face a problem situation. These processes increase the probability of selecting the most effective one among them.
So, It is a cognitive-affective-behavioral process from which the person attempts to identify or discover an effective solution or coping response for a particular problem. This concept was addressed by D’Zurilla and Goldfried in 1986/1993 and also by D’Zurilla and Nezu in 2007.
On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that emotional responses can facilitate or inhibit problem-solving performance depending on some variables.
Problem Solving Therapy is made up of three different types of skills: general, specific and basic. Let’s see them:
1. General
They are problem-oriented skills, and are used in the first phase of therapy (problem orientation phase), as we will see later. These are general cognitions such as perceiving the problem, attributing causality to it, appreciating it, and committing to it.
2. Specific
These are the “intermediate” skills that the patient uses (between general and basic), and they are put into practice in very specific situations.
3. Basic
They are the most specific skills in problem solving, and are used in the phases following the first, to define the problem, generate alternatives, make a decision, apply the solution and check its usefulness.
Stages of therapy
Problem Solving Therapy is divided into five stages, each of which is made up of one or more of the three types of skills mentioned. These stages are:
1. Orientation towards the problem
It is about accepting the problems one has, and focuses on the importance of recognizing them and not running away, maintaining a positive attitude towards them. At this stage the motivational component is very important The most important variables in this phase are four:
These variables are in turn the general skills used in this phase, consisting of general problem-oriented cognitions.
2. Definition and formulation
In this phase of Problem Solving Therapy, the importance of defining the problem well is highlighted; According to the authors, if the problem is well defined, half of it is solved. The variables or steps of this stage are:
Here the basic skills are used, which are the most specific in problem solving. Specifically, in this stage the skills of sensitivity to problems and perspective taking are used, which make it possible to define and formulate the problem appropriately.
3. Generation of alternatives
At this stage, three principles derived from Guidford’s divergent production and Osborn’s brainstorming method Basic skills are also used at this stage.
The three principles proposed in this phase are:
3.1. Quantity principle
The more ideas proposed, the better and also the more likely it will be that some of them will be useful or effective.
3.2. Principle of postponement of trial.
A person You will generate better solutions if you don’t have to evaluate them that same moment.
3.3. Variety principle
The more varied the ideas, the better, and more likely that one will be effective
4. Decision making
Here the best proposals or ideas are selected, based on anticipated consequences; Then the results are evaluated and the execution of the ideas or strategies is planned proposals.
As in the previous phases, basic problem-solving skills are also used here; specifically three: alternative thinking (thinking about alternatives), means-end thinking (thinking about means to reach the objectives) and consequential thinking (thinking about the consequences of the proposed solutions).
5. Execution and verification
Finally, in the last phase of Problem Solving Therapy, the result and effectiveness of the chosen solution in the real problem situation is evaluated. This phase is made up of four components or subphases:
Execution: the solution is put into practice.
Self-observation : one observes one’s own behavior and its results.
Self-assessment: the result obtained is compared with the predicted result.
Self-reinforcement : one’s own behavior or execution is reinforced.
Bas, F. (1992). Cognitive-behavioral therapies: a second critical review. Clinic and Health, COP Madrid, 3(2).
Feixas, G; Miró, T. (1993). Approaches to psychotherapy. An introduction to psychological treatments. Ed. Paidós. Barcelona.
Bados, A. and García, E. (2014). Problem resolution. Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 1-34.
