ABSTRACT
Clients usually present with more than one problem. The list 'ticked off' as progress made on each problem. A problem list drawn up in the first stages of assessment but is not fixed for the rest of therapy: problems added to or deleted from the list. Problems prioritized in terms of the expected progress made tackling them within the allotted time for therapy. Sometimes a client will present with a large number of problems that leave both client and therapist feeling overwhelmed. Therapist able to pinpoint the beliefs and behaviours that connect seemingly disparate problems to develop a simple case conceptualization and behavioural factors maintaining the client's various problems. Fennell observes: The problem list imposes order on chaos. A mass of distressing experiences reduced to a number of relatively specific difficulties. This process of 'problem-reduction' is crucial to encouragement of hope, since it implies possibility of control.
