The Heroic Client: A Revolutionary Way to Improve Effectiveness Through Client-Directed, Outcome-Informed Therapy

Front Cover
John Wiley & Sons, Mar 10, 2011 - Psychology - 288 pages
In this controversial book, psychologists Barry Duncan and Scott Miller, cofounders of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, challenge the traditional focus on diagnosis, "silver bullet" techniques, and magic pills, exposing them as empirically bankrupt practices that only diminish the role of clients and hasten therapy's extinction. Instead, they advocate for the long-ignored but most crucial factor in therapeutic success-the innate resources of the client. Based on extensive clinical research and case studies, The Heroic Client not only shows how to harness the client's powers of regeneration to make therapy effective, but also how to enlist the client as a partner to make therapy accountable. The Heroic Client inspires therapists to boldly rewrite the drama of therapy, recast clients in their rightful role as heroes and heroines of the therapeutic stage, and legitimize their services to third-party payers without the compromises of the medical model.
 

Contents

Therapy at the Crossroads
1
The Myth of the Medical Model
21
Becoming Client Directed
49
Becoming Outcome Informed
81
The Clients Theory of Change
119
The Myth of the Magic Pill
147
Planet Mental Health
178
A FirstPerson Account of Mental Health Services
213
Five Questions About Psychotherapy
219
Outcome Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale Experimental Versions for Children
221
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About the author (2011)

Barry L. Duncan is cofounder and codirector of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change and in private practice in Coral Springs, Florida.

Scott D. Miller is cofounder and codirector of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, in Chicago, Illinois.

Jacqueline A. Sparks is assistant professor of marriage and family therapy, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, at the University of Rhode Island.

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