For someone dealing with depression, here’s how coaching for depression might offer a different approach compared to older therapies:
- Shifting the Focus Traditional therapies often focus on reducing negative emotions, while solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) aims to increase positive emotions to improve the client’s life. SFBT helps create a positive environment where problems can be transformed into new and better lives.
- Eliciting Expertise Instead of the therapist being the expert, SFBT sees clients as co-experts, inviting them to share their knowledge and expertise. The anxiety coach asks questions to bring out the client’s expertise.
- Future-Oriented Approach SFBT uses future-oriented techniques and questions to create positive emotions and broaden the client’s array of thoughts and actions.
- Focusing on Solutions Problems can be solved without even discussing them by inviting clients to think about what difference a solution will make.
- Externalizing Problems SFBT helps to move problems from internal to external. For example, “I am anxious” becomes “Anxiety has been visiting me for a while”.
- Gratitude Gratitude can counterbalance depression by changing the client’s focus from what is wrong to what is right.
- Client-Defined Goals Goals are individualized for each client, and increasing positive affect may be the goal of treatment. The client defines the end of treatment.
- Emphasis on Change A focus on change involves describing what clients will be doing differently once the problem is solved, creating an expectation of beneficial change.
- Coping in Crisis Situations SFBT invites clients to think about their coping in crisis situations and to regain confidence in their competencies.
- Progress and Follow-Up Follow-up sessions start by asking what is better since the last meeting, giving compliments, and emphasizing the client’s input.
- Ideal Therapist Consider what qualities your ideal therapist would have, what they would do, and what questions they would ask.
- Client’s Strengths: Asking about how the client succeeded in staying away from a previous depressive episode can brighten them up and make them feel better.
- Saving Face Saving face is important when clients feel overwhelmed. Therapy should allow clients to bow out of their symptoms gracefully.
- Validating Doubts Instead of ignoring doubts, the therapist validates them and asks scaling questions about confidence, hope, and motivation.
Summary Coaching for depression with SFBT focuses on increasing positive emotions and client expertise, using future-oriented questions, and emphasizing gratitude and personal strengths to facilitate change. An anxiety coach can help clients redefine their problems.
Coaching, Depression, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Positive Psychology, Anxiety, Client Empowerment