ABSTRACT
Reattribution helps clients to step back from and look at the many contributions to an adverse outcome. Thus, a client who blames herself for causing a bad outcome can help to see that she cannot be responsible for all the factors that led to this outcome. Self-blame for 'causing' negative outcomes are particularly evident in guilt and depression. For example, a client said that she felt guilty because her 30-year-old son was 'not fulfilling his potential, just drifting through life and drinking heavily', and blamed herself for her son's difficulties. This statement reflected the client's assumption of omnipotence. By listing as many factors as possible that have contributed to her son's difficulties the client realized eventually that her influence ability, let alone control, her son's life was severely limited. Reattribution is not meant to let clients 'off the hook' but to help them assess accurately their responsibility level in producing a particular outcome.
