How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families

is able to identify the sequence of events operating in a system to keep it the way it is. What happens between point A and point B or C to create D can be helpful when designing interventions. In tracking, the therapist follows the content of the family that is the facts. Getting information through using open-ended questions. Tracking is best exemplified when the therapist gives a family feedback on what he or she has observed or heard.  UNBALANCING This is a procedure wherein the therapist supports an individual or subsystem against the rest of the family. When this technique is used to support an underdog in the family system, a chance for change within the total hierarchical relationship is fostered.  INTRODUCING UNCERTAINTY The therapist can introduce some uncertainty into the problem definition by asking “What gives you the impression that things seem difficult to handle?” Or he/she can imply that there are days when the problem is nonexistent by asking “What is different about the days when things seem manageable?”  UTILIZATION STRATEGY The utilization strategy, one of the most powerful Ericksonian strategies, is based on a simple concept. It involves the therapist learning from the outset as many of the specific strengths and resources the client possesses. This usually means asking clients questions that will evoke positive data. The therapist could then process and integrate those data expeditiously in the early process and possibly accelerate the course of therapy. Utilization may also include thoroughly exploring certain particulars of the client’s intake form, looking for relevant particulars that, when incorporated in the process, could offer a possible winning combination in an attempt to effectively enter a reluctant client’s cosmos. These particulars involve aspects of the client’s life experience, attitudes, overall strengths and talents such as in the following: • Work history in a particularly interesting or difficult job • Interesting profession • Challenging work experiences • Hobbies • Talents • Interests • Sense of humor • Desire for change • Positive attitudes • Use of language • Beliefs • Intentions • Narrative abilities • General experiences. Because Erickson pragmatically concluded from his studies that patients know (consciously and otherwise) their strengths and resources best, he believed that it was natural for the therapist to utilize those strengths and resources as early as possible, including those

How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 277