Is Outcome Orientation Important in Therapy
There are many theoretical orientations within psychotherapy. Some are more well known and researched than others. I have been wondering about the importance of outcome orientation as part of a model of psychotherapy or even a model in itself. To my way of thinking helping clients to achieve realistic outcomes is an essential of good therapy.
I believe this because in my view, therapy should not merely be an intellectual exercise, but it should be an opportunity for concrete changes in a person’s life. Now, of course, there are therapists who will focus on the therapeutic journey, which is fine. My clients want to not only have the journey, but also want to enjoy the destination. This notion that there is a therapeutic destination is the core or the outcome oriented or solution focused model of therapy.
There is an argument that one never truly reaches the end of the therapeutic process, as we are all to some degree works in progress. However, having a destination in mind, does assist the process to move forward and assists clients with that one true essential to any type of therapy…..hope. We all need hope to survive and therapy can help clients to manifest their own hope for the future.
