If it works, do more of it

Sometimes people come saying that they are stuck in an extremely difficult or impossible situation. It could be something like a debilitating illness, their own or that of a family member, or a bullying boss, or maybe far more commitments in their life than they feel they can juggle any longer.

Of course, some things cannot be changed, whilst there are others that would require enormous upheaval. What we do, instead of focusing on the problem, is to help the client see how they can cope better within their situation. We focus on what aspects of the client’s life that are already working, and then we say ‘If it works, do more of it’.

Helping people to notice how they are handling things well, really helps them to progress, and sometimes they do so quite quickly. Their difficult situation is still the same, but their responses have changed and they can start to enjoy life again.