How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 89

Therapists can do a great deal to influence client’s perceptions regarding the inevitability of change and
what is supposed to happen during the therapy session.
The therapist’s job is to identify and amplify change
He/She accomplishes this through choice of questions, topics focused on or ignored. “Focus on what seems
to be working however small, to label it as worthwhile, and to work toward amplifying it.” If [the change] is
in a crucial area, it can change the whole system.
It is usually unnecessary to know a great deal about the complaint in order to resolve it
What is significant is what the clients are doing that is working. Learn from clients’ identifying when the
problem is not troublesome. Clients can learn to function that way again to solve the problem.
It is not necessary to know the cause or function of a complaint to resolve it
Even the most creative hypotheses about the possible function of a symptom will not offer therapists a clue
about how people can change. It simply suggests how people’s lives have become static. Ask those who
want to know why they have a symptom: “Would it be enough if the problem were to disappear and you
never understood why had it?”
A small change is all that is necessary: A change in one part of the system can affect change in another part
of the system
“We have the sense that positive changes will at least continue and may expand and have beneficial effects
in other areas of the person’s life.
Clients define the goal
Do not assume that therapists are better equipped to decide how their clients should live their lives; ask
people to establish their own goals for treatment.
Rapid change or resolution of problems is possible
“We believe that, as a result of our interaction during the first session, our clients will gain a more
productive and optimistic view of their situations.” Therapists expect them to go home and do what is
necessary to make their lives more satisfying (p. 45). Average length of treatment is less than 10 sessions,
usually 4 to 5, occasionally only 1.
There is no one “right” way to view things; Different views may be just as valid and may fit the facts just as
well
Views that keep people stuck are simply not useful. Sometimes all that is necessary to initiate significant
change is a shift in the person’s perception of the situation.”
Focus on what is possible and changeable rather than what is impossible and intractable
Focus on aspects of a person’s situation that seem most changeable. This imparts a sense of hope and power

Questions
The miracle question
The miracle question is a method of questioning that a coach, therapist, or counsellor uses to aid the client to
envision how the future will be different when the problem is no longer present. Also, this may help to
establish goals.
A traditional version of the miracle question would go like this:
"Suppose our meeting is over, you go home, do whatever you planned to do for the rest of the day.
And then, some time in the evening, you get tired and go to sleep. And in the middle of the night,
when you are fast asleep, a miracle happens and all the problems that brought you here today are
solved just like that. But since the miracle happened overnight nobody is telling you that the miracle

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