Brief Strategic Therapy
Brief strategic therapy is an evolution of systemic therapy, in symbiosis with Milton Erickson’s hypnotherapy, with studies on family and studies on communication.
It derives from the collaboration between Paul Watzlawick and Giorgio Nardone.
The authors of this approach aimed to create a theoretical and operational model for the rapid solution of individual, couple and family problems, applicable to broad contexts and not only to clinical cases.
During the therapy, techniques of hypnotic suggestion, paradoxes and effective
communication are used in order to circumvent the patient’s resistance to change and lead him to perceive reality from a more functional point of view (restructuring).
One of the key concepts is the following: it is the therapy that must adapt to the patient and not the patient to the therapy. This flexibility makes the approach also suitable in other areas: training, consulting, implementation of prevention and intervention projects in schools, companies and local authorities.
Brief strategic therapy is a type of intervention in which the psychotherapist takes on the responsibility of directly influencing people. It has demonstrated its effectiveness in different forms of pathology.
It focuses on the problem presented, what keeps it going and how to quickly change the situation. The emphasis is on “how” people build their problem rather than on why, and attempts are made to resolve the discomfort through seemingly simple solutions.
The therapist’s job is to help people identify dysfunctional behaviors and ineffective solutions that can fuel or even become the problem.