ABSTRACT
Theme of Desperation: “I Have a Problem That I Need to Work On!” 94 Theme of Helplessness: The Symptom Is Out of Control (“I Can’t Help Myself”) 95 Theme of Hopelessness: “I Have a Chronic Problem” 97 Theme of Defensiveness: “Who or What Is the Problem? (’Cause It’s Not Me!)” 98 Theme of Exhaustion: Being Overwhelmed (Physically, Emotionally, and/or Psychologically) 99 Theme of Despair: The Experience of Loss 100 Theme of Fear and Confusion: Double Binds 102
Therapeutic Goals 104 Client Input: An Essential Ingredient to Successful Therapeutic Outcome 106 Treatment Plans 107 What Happens When Goals Don’t Align? 108 Summary 109 Endnotes 110
A client’s “story” has two basic elements to it that therapists must assess. There is the linear element consisting of the facts of the story, and the nonlinear element consisting of the theme or meaning behind the story. Awareness of an underlying theme can be enormously useful in appreciating what a client really wants (or needs) from therapy. In turn, knowing what areas may be more important and what areas are less important to a client is helpful to a therapist. We will describe each below, along with examples and suggestions for how linear and nonlinear listening (and responding) may be helpful in working with such a pattern.
