How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 278

Example of Utilization Strategy
Therapist: I understand that you do artwork. Is that right?
Client: Yes. I do portraits at home and also commercial stuff.
T: Could you tell me about when you first started?
C: I always drew and doodled as a kid. Then, as a teenager, I discovered I could paint and get paid for it too. So,
it’s been about 20 years since I’ve been painting privately and working as a commercial artist.
T: What does your wife think about this talent that you possess?
C: She’s my biggest fan and, of course, my biggest critic.
T: How is she your biggest fan?
C: She supported and encouraged me in some of the lean years when my stuff wasn’t selling and when things
were slow and the commercial world gave me the pink slip. She was there whenever things got bad or I began to
doubt myself.
T: I’m just curious about something. How fast does your wife pick up on things in general?
C: I’d say pretty fast, but it all depends on what you’re talking about.
T: Does she pick up on how things are going in your life?
C: Yes. She’s pretty good at that. Yes, she is.
T: Do you have any examples as to when she definitely picked up on something, and it proved to be beneficial
to the two of you?
C: I was forced to stop work some years ago, and she picked up that I was prone to depression when things got
too stressful for me.
T: How did she help you then?
C: Well, at first, I fought her tooth and nail. (pause).
T: And, what else?
C: I guess I was stubborn.
T: How’s that?
C: I thought that depression just couldn’t happen to me, and so I fought all the way.
T: In what sense, all the way?
C: Denial. I denied all the way to the hospital. Things had gotten so bad that I started to drink. That was
something I didn’t usually do. I went into a stupor a couple of times, and the last time I did, she got frightened
and drove me to the emergency room. (pause).
T: What sense do you make of that event in your life?
C: She was right on the money.
T: How did it turn out?
C: I was only in the hospital for a few days. I was diagnosed with depression. Then I was discharged. While I
was there, they ran tests. They discovered that I also had a liver disease that I never knew about. If I had
continued drinking, I would have been dead a long time ago.
T: Have you had it checked out by your doctor since then?
C: Several times. My liver is doing fine.
T: That sounds like great news. I imagine you must be happy about that.
C: Yes, I am.
T: I understand your wife has some other concerns about you right now. Would you like to talk about them?
Before the preceding dialogue took place, the therapist had perused the client’s paperwork (intake). As in most

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