What Is Brief Strategic Therapy? 5 Beneficial Techniques For Your Well-being
Do you know brief strategic psychotherapy? Brief strategic therapy consists of a focused intervention model with effective results. Discover how it works and its advantages.
Brief strategic therapy is a psychological therapy oriented to solve the problem that the patient brings and generate the necessary change in order to modify the dysfunctional vision that he has of his problem, to a much more functional one. This brief therapy allows us to solve certain limitations that we may encounter in our daily lives. So much so that sometimes this type of therapy can be more useful than conventional ones. Find out what it is and how it can help you.
Within brief psychotherapy, strategic therapist looks for the way in which a problem remains in the present: observe how it works and how the patient has tried to confront and solve it so far, identifying how the person perceives and reacts to the problem; What thoughts, emotions and behaviors are influencing him to maintain it and what solutions he has tried to implement that have not worked.
Based on this, the brief strategic therapy It consists of trying to introduce changes in this dysfunctional way of perceiving and reacting, and in turn, interrupting the vicious circle to solve the problem, which influences its persistence.
Often, when we are faced with a problem, we tend to look more for the explanation than the solution to the problem. From Brief Therapy instead of carrying out interventions that are based on investigating the causes of the problem, we seek to induce change with the therapeutic application of strategies that lead us to solve the problem, and in this way it will be the solution that will lead us to the discovery of the way what the problem works on.
Brief strategic therapy was conceived by Giorgio Nardone as an alternative to long therapies that usually imply few results in the short term. The technique of brief strategic therapy began to be carried out at the Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto (MRI), an institution dedicated to the study of psychotherapy. It was at the Palo Alto school where it was proven that this therapy proposed by Giorgio Nardone is effective in the patients who receive it.
What is the goal of strategic brief therapy?
The objective of the brief strategic therapy It is causing a first change in the person to help them feel and think differently. The change in a situation, no matter how small, can generate other changes, which will have a “snowball“, which will lead to bigger ones.
Inside of brief strategic psychotherapy We work on the patient’s perception of their problem, and at the same time, we work on the emotional and behavioral levels, and as a final effect, cognitive change will also occur. This is an aspect that differentiates us from other therapies: first the change is obtained and then the consciousness, while in most therapies the consciousness is sought first to obtain the change. Strategic brief therapists believe we know through change.
Strategic brief therapy: Techniques
Inside of brief strategic therapy, techniques that psychotherapists use are very focused on the following.
View the source of the problem: The psychotherapist and the patient work to discover how the problem that brings them to therapy works and remains in the present, as well as discovering the attempts that the person has made to resolve their difficulties, since it is probably those attempted solutions that have made the patient problem persists or even intensifies. In this way, in the strategic psychology The important thing is to visualize the reason that causes a problem in order to act on it. Thus, psychotherapy is usually a short process where the psychotherapist is more directive than in other psychological orientations and where the duration of the process is short in time, in fact, we are talking about less than 20 sessions as a general rule.
Find new ways of looking at the problem: The goal of treatment within the brief psychotherapy by Giorgio Nardone It will therefore be to discover new ways of constructing your reality, new more functional dynamics, understanding at the same time the dysfunctional dynamics that maintain the problem. I explain; When we have a problem we try to solve it by thinking about what we believe is the best way to do it, either because we have already tried it before, or because we believe it is the best alternative.
Check if it works: If the solution attempted within the strategic psychology is correct, the discomfort will be eliminated, but if the strategy used is not correct, we can enter a vicious circle where the problem intensifies with the solution attempted. For example: a person suffered an anxiety attack in the supermarket and the solution he tries is to stop going to all large stores to avoid the appearance of symptoms. Without knowing it, the person is making the initial problem bigger. Detecting this dynamic and proposing new solutions will be what the brief therapy will focus on.
These techniques can only be done through a professional psychologist. Thanks to his efforts, you will be able to see the results in your life much faster than through traditional therapy. Likewise, it is important to note that the root problem will only disappear if it is treated through other more persistent and focused methods.
What are the advantages of brief therapy?
There are a series of advantages that the brief strategic therapy Among the most notable we can find the following.
The brevity of the treatment: Make a brief therapy Less than a year in duration implies a lower financial investment than with other orientations, which becomes a great advantage.
Focus on the present: We have often commented that it is important to focus on the here and now. The brief strategic therapy Being focused on the present helps to modify the current aspects of the problems, which are the most practical to change, since the past cannot be modified.
Focuses on solutions: Being a solution-focused therapy, the sessions are quite directive and the therapist has a more active role in proposing activities and strategic tasks which can be very beneficial for people who need more guidance and concrete guidelines.
The directing therapist: During the brief psychotherapy The one who takes the reins of responsibility is the therapist. In this way, he will be in charge of designing the guidelines so that you can visualize the way to address your problem.
Quick results: Another benefit of brief strategic therapy They are the speed in which the results can be visualized. Through this type of strategic psychology techniques you can overcome obsessions, have more self-confidence, among other effects that can be an advantage in the short term.
The brief strategic therapy It is one of the most effective tools for solving problems that require a patch in certain situations. But, we must remember that the source of them will still be there and this will have to be treated more effectively through the help of a mental health professional. You can improve certain aspects quickly, but to evolve you need to focus on yourself.
