Common Factors
The work of a therapist usually entails dealing with families and couples regularly. Practitioners have to understand emerging trends, including evidence-based practice, that can help one analyze issues and address them holistically. From the classroom readings this week, it is clear that modern practitioners need more than an understanding of models. They need to learn how to customize the models in specific client situations.
The common factor research has presented a lot of insights regarding the practice of marital and family therapy. The most outstanding part of the classroom readings, however, entails training the next generation of family therapists (Blow, Sprenkle & Davis, 2007). It caught my attention because it discusses the need to shift from encouraging a student from being passionate about a specific theory to being passionate about theory in general. When a student gets exposed to several models, they develop a better understanding of the particular problem. They have more avenues to address a specific problem instead of having one approach in addressing all issues. The work of a therapist is, thus, more customized for specific family therapy issues.
My understanding of how models guide therapists’ work is that a practitioner needs to analyze the specific problem that a client has and determine the most appropriate approach to address it. In essence, instead of understanding a model, it is more essential to understand a client’s problem to make it easy to customize the help that is required (Anderson, 2012; Blow, Sprenkle & Davis, 2007). I understand that models are tools that help a therapist perform their duties effectively. However, a deeper understanding of clients’ problems has to be the main focus of interaction between a therapist and patient.
I believe that I have the skills to help me with a strong therapeutic career. For instance, I have strong communication and interpersonal skills (Hatcher, 2015). I can engage patients from their perspective. Thus, I can better understand the issues that they may go through. Apart from that, I also have skills in conflict resolution. I can help manage and address conflict within a marital and family setting in totality. I apply the virtue of empathy to help me address these problems effectively.
In conclusion, modern practitioners have to tailor therapeutic models to fit specific client situations. This week’s readings teach that there is a need to shift from understanding theory to learning how to being passionate about the entire process of therapy. I also believe that I have the skills to help me perform effectively as a therapist.