Haley's Strategic Therapy
What is strategic therapy?
Strategic Therapy is any type of therapy where the therapist initiates what happens during therapy and designs a particular approach for each problem. As Haley wrote in Uncommon Therapy: The Psychiatric Techniques Of Milton H. Erickson MD: "Strategic therapy isn't a particular approach or theory, but a name for the types of therapy where the therapist takes responsibility for directly influencing people" (Pg. 17).
In the 1950s, therapists began to study the environment of a patient, not just the patient himself. The theory of strategic therapy states that the patient's symptoms are a result of attempts by family members to correct what they consider "problem" behavior. Haley's strategic therapy focuses on short-term, targeted efforts to solve a specific problem.
A therapist employing strategic therapy must:
- Identify solvable problems.
- Set goals.
- Design interventions to achieve those goals.
- Examine the responses.
- Examine the outcome of the therapy.
Read more about this topic: Jay Haley
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