http://quest.eb.com/search/counseling/1/132_1278618/General-practice-counselling
As counselors occasionally there will be times where point out a clients strengths can greatly assist them. As Scott Meir and Susan Davis (2011) state "emphasizing strengths is a particularly important method for helping a clients regain control in a crisis." (Meir & Davis, 2011). There are in fact counselors who specialize in this very form of counseling. Now as counselors we will find ourselves occasionally pointing out our counselees strengths to them, but the two studies I will present will showcase how we should consider implementing strength based counseling more regularly.
"Researchers and practitioners have found that clients are able to use their own strengths to withstand their difficulties and improve their lives. Six studies have provided empirical support for the use of a strengths-based counseling approach with adolescents and adults." (Farmer, Lile & Welfare, 2013). This article goes on to lay out a large amount of data all pointing to the fact that counselees flourish under strength based counseling which encourages us remind our counselees of all the strengths they possess and encourage them to think on those strengths in which they have been blessed. This is no to say we impose our views of their strengths on them, but as our sessions progress we will learn areas in which our counselee does feel good about it. We must store those away in case at some point in the future our counselee needs to be reminded of those very strengths. The second article cites "Strength-based counseling represents a paradigm shift in psychology from the deficit medical model to one that stresses clients’ strengths." (Smith, 2006). This article goes on to parrot the similarities of the last study, clearly we will see more of this model in the field in the upcoming years.
References
WELFARE, L. E., FARMER, L. B., & LILE, J. J. (2013). Empirical evidence for the importance of conceptualizing client strengths. The Journal of Humanistic Counseling
General practice counselling. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/132_1278618/1/132_1278618/cite. Accessed 4 Apr 2017.
Smith, E. J. (2006). The strength-based counseling model: A paradigm shift in psychology. The Counseling Psychologist
This is an interesting topic and I am glad you shared it, Rob. People in general tend to focus on the negative aspects of others. In the society today, It is somewhat difficult to place emphasis on positive things than the negative. The brain does well to capture both, however we tend to replay more negative situations than positive ones. By pointing out the strengths in others, we tear down the wall of low self esteem and self loathing. People will begin to see that they are more than their actions, pushing them to view situations differently.
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