Strengths-based approaches

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Rapp, Goscha, Dennis Saleebey · Kansas

What it is

Strengths-based approaches are a practice perspective and family of methods, not a single therapy. The most proceduralised member is the Strengths Model of case management, developed at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare for adults with serious mental illness; Saleebey's strengths…

Format

• No fixed session-numbered protocol exists. The work is an ongoing process with recognisable functions. Hui et al. (2015), following Rapp & Goscha, list five: engagement, strengths assessment, case (personal recovery) planning, resource acquisition, and tracking/evaluation. Rapp & Goscha's book is…
• Group supervision: weekly, 90 minutes to 2 hours, mostly client-focused, with several people formally presented.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Format and dose (examples, not standards). Tse et al. (2021, Hong Kong trial): individual sessions of about 30 minutes once a fortnight, guided by the SA and PRP. Hui et al. (2015): an average of 5.4 face-to-face contacts of at least 60 minutes over six months. Training in both was about two days of KU-delivered Strengths Model training plus supervision; Hui reports over 30 hours of training.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• reviews turning into problem audits.
• feedback about paperwork compliance only.
• quietly replacing their theory with yours.
• using the acronym as a form rather than a conversation.
• abrupt discharge; ending while the person depends on you for core supports.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.