What does it mean to return the focus to the client?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

When describing their problems and how they would like for things to change, most clients state what they would like for others to do differently. Such talk helps them to feel as if they are powerless in their circumstances and at the mercy of others. In order to move from a sense of powerlessness to a position of empowerment, clients will have to shift their focus. As DeJong and Berg (2002) have asserted, “They will have to focus less on what they do not appreciate about other people and their current circumstances and more on what they want to have happen differently in the situation and how they see themselves participating in a solution” (p. 44). For instance, if a woman has a husband who verbally abuses her, she would be asked to focus on what she could do to stop being abused. “What power do you have that might make you less of a target of verbal abuse from your husband?” The woman might say: “Each time when he begins his verbal abuse, I will just get up and leave the room to work on my artwork.”