http://www.flickr.com/photos/82934259@N00/

“How will your relationship with your children improve when you do this?”

“What’s the best outcome for your family to result when you stop hitting each other?”

“What encourages you to think that you can change if you want to?”

“What do you think would work for you, if you decided to change?”

“What reasons do you see for changing how you discipline your children?”

“What makes you think that you may need to make a change in your drug use?”

“If you were 100% successful and things worked out exactly as you would like, what would be different?”

“What things make you think you should keep on drinking the way you have been?  And what about the other side?  What makes you think it’s time for change?”

“As we’ve talked about, leaving your children alone is not okay.  What are you thinking about changing regarding that?”

“What would be the advantages of making a change?”

“I can see that you’re feeling stuck at the moment.  What’s going to have to change so your kids can stay here with you?”

“What worries you about your child’s lack of development?”

“What can you imagine happening to her if this doesn’t change?”

“How do you feel about the crying when you hit the children?”

“In what ways does this concern you?”

“What do you think will happen if you don’t make a change?”

“What things make you think this is a problem?”

“What difficulties have you had regarding drug use?”

“In what ways do you think you or other people have been harmed by your behaviour?”

“In what ways has this been a problem for you? “

“How has your use of spanking stopped the children from doing what you don’t want them to do?”

“What do you see as the reasons we need to keep talking to each other?”

“What might happen if you and I don’t work together on this situation?”

“How have you managed to  prevent things from becoming worse?”

“Are you coping?, Doyou have problems”, are not effective questions. This question will always receive a “Yes” response. The reason for this is that geriatric clients are fiercely protective of their independence, thus such a question is perceived  as threatening; a client will not admit to not coping, because in their mind this may indicate to us (social workers), that we should place them in a facility. INSTEAD - ask “On a really bad day tell me how you managed to get dressed?, Who plans your dialysis appointments for you? (if they reply ‘family’ this is an indication that they cope well since they ask for help), Who do you call if you need to get to (insert any location/place)?, If you have a set-back in your health, what do you do?” 

W:   (she thinks about it a long time)  I would say I am at 1.1.

T:   (Surprised)  So, what makes it a 1.1?

W:   I guess it’s because we are both here tonight.

C:  I suppose I will feel like getting up and facing the day, instead of wanting to cover my head under the blanket and just hide there.

T:  Suppose you do, get up and face the day, what would be the small thing you would do that you didn’t do this morning?

C:  I suppose I will say good morning to my kids in a cheerful voice, instead of screaming at them like I do now.

T:  What would your children do in response to your cheerful “good morning?”

C:  They will be surprised at first to hear me talk to them in a cheerful voice, and then they will calm down, be relaxed.  God, it’s been a long time that happened.    

T:   So, what would you do then that you did not do this morning?

C:   I will crack a joke and put them in a better mood.

Source: http://www.solutionfocused.net/solutionfocusedtherapy.html