Therapist Use of Client Strengths

Abstract

Gelso and Woodhouse highlight a lack of empirical efforts to bring a core identity of counseling psychology, the use of client strengths, into therapy. Additionally, the positive psychology movement is devoid of a system of positive therapeutic processes designed to help clients toward optimal human functioning. This investigation sought to explicitly identify positive processes thought to regularly occur in mainstream therapies by interviewing therapists. Interviews produced 266 significant statements leading to five themes: (a) amplification of strengths, (b) contextual considerations, (c) strength-oriented processes, (d) strength-oriented outcomes, and (e) positive meaning-making. Therapists reported using client strengths to broaden client perspectives and create hope and motivation, to create positive meanings through reframing and metaphors, to identify strengths through the interpersonal therapeutic process, to match client contexts through strengths, and to amplify strengths through encouragement and exception finding. Identified themes are recommended as a taxonomy of positive processes for future research.

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