| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Shifting contexts: The generation of effective psychotherapy by Bill O'Hanlon and James Wilk (see record 1987-98642-000). The premise of the book is that what prevents people from achieving their (physically) attainable goals is their belief that they cannot achieve them because of some obstacle. The authors argue that by "sifting facts" (i.e., observable behavior) from meanings and attributions (i.e., the presuppositions) the therapist can negotiate a solvable problem with the client. Solvable problems are negotiated by creating doubt and uncertainty about the presuppositions that support the self-perceived, unsolvable "problem." The authors contend that the negotiation process itself is the key to the "dissolution" in language--as opposed to the solution--of the problem, and it is this process that accounts for their successful one-session cases. Two fundamental criticisms may be leveled at an otherwise practical and stimulating book. First is the unfortunate use of the term "epistemology." Readers familiar with the "epistemology debates" of the (family) systems movement may recoil from the confusion engendered there by that much-abused term. Other readers may simply be confused. The second and perhaps more important criticism concerns the position on psychology. To adopt a therapy model that focuses on process and disavows the value of "psychological" content is neither new nor, depending upon one's definition, necessarily outside the discipline of psychology. What this book does provide is a refreshing, witty, and appealing approach to the doing of psychotherapy. It is written with grace and style, and with an appreciation of the power and intricacies of language found in the common discourse of life, including therapy sessions. It succeeds most surely in bringing new articulations, understandings, and approaches to some not-so-new ideas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
