Creative Therapy in Challenging Situations: Unusual Interventions to Help Clients

251 Pages·2019·2.968 MB·English

by  Michael Hoyt (editor), Monte Bobele (editor)

Creative Therapy
in Challenging
Situations
Creative Therapy in Challenging Situations introduces readers to the innovative
approaches that therapists sometimes take when standardized, paint-by-
the-numbers routines don’t work. Each chapter presents the story of one or
more difficult psychotherapy situations followed by the therapists’ descriptions
of what they did and why, as well as the outcome that resulted. The authors
and their stories span a wide variety of theoretical approaches and contexts,
showing how clinicians can improvise beyond everyday scenarios and tech-
niques. This collection of provocative, instructive vignettes from well-known
practitioners often generates “You said what?!” reactions while encouraging
readers to think creatively in the moment in order to reach healthy, innovative
outcomes from the trickiest and most unexpected therapeutic scenarios.
Michael F. Hoyt, Ph.D., is a psychologist based in Mill Valley, California. He is
the author/editor of numerous publications, including Single-Session Therapy
by Walk-In or Appointment; Brief Therapy and Beyond; and Therapist Stories of
Inspiration, Passion, and Renewal.
Monte Bobele, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Our Lady of the
Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. He is the co-editor of Single-Session
Therapy by Walk-In or Appointment and When One Hour is All You Have, and
the author of numerous other publications.

Creative Therapy
in Challenging
Situations
Unusual Interventions to Help Clients
Edited by
Michael F. Hoyt and Monte Bobele
First published 2019
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Michael F. Hoyt and Monte Bobele
The right of Michael F. Hoyt and Monte Bobele to be identified as the authors of
the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hoyt, Michael F., editor. | Bobele, Monte, editor.
Title: Creative therapy in challenging situations: unusual interventions to help
clients/edited by Michael F. Hoyt & Monte Bobele.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018057793 (print) | LCCN 2018058921 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780429028687 (eBook) | ISBN 9780367138097 (hbk) |
ISBN 9780367138103 (pbk) | ISBN 9780429028687 (ebk)
Subjects: | MESH: Psychotherapy–methods | Creativity | Treatment Outcome |
Professional-Patient Relations
Classification: LCC RC480.5 (ebook) | LCC RC480.5 (print) | NLM WM 420 |
DDC 616.89/14–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018057793
ISBN: 978-0-367-13809-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-13810-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-02868-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Dedications
MFH: to Carol Erickson, John Frykman, and Murray Korngold – dear
departed friends and You Said What?! aficionados
MB: to Harry Goolishian, John Weakland, and Glen Gardner – who left us all
too early and inspired many You Said What?! moments

Contents
Acknowledgments x
About the Contributors xii
1 “You Said What?”: Introduction and Invitation 1
Michael F. Hoyt and Monte Bobele
2 The Accidental Drug Dealer 8
Andrew T. Austin
3 A Different Kind of Education 14
Bob Bertolino
4 On a Small Island off the Coast of Texas 30
Monte Bobele
5 A Violent Life: Using Brief Therapy “Logics” to Facilitate Change 47
Flavio Cannistrá
6 Transforming Trauma and the Migration of Identity:
Accepting the “Call” from Outside the Cave 58
Jim Duvall
vii
viii Contents
7 Heating Up to Cool Down: An Encountering Approach to
Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and Brief Therapy 70
Douglas Flemons
8 Looking “Outside the Box” for Client Strengths 80
Joseph A. Goldfield
9 The Rock-n-Rollers Remixed: Back to the Future 92
Shelley Green
10 Going “One-Down” 103
Michael F. Hoyt
11 “No Way – You Gotta Be Kidding!”: Using Ordeals to
Promote Problem-Stopping 113
Michael F. Hoyt
12 However Great the Question, It’s the Answer That Makes a
Difference 121
Chris Iveson
13 120 Centimeters from Sainthood 134
Hillary Keeney and Bradford Keeney
14 Random Effects of Ambiguity Along the Pathway Toward Health 144
David V. Keith
15 When Impatience Gets the Best of Me 156
Jeffrey Kottler
16 The Single Stroke: What Makes “Zingers” Zing? 163
Michele Ritterman
17 Our Clients Are Able and Strong: MRI Problem-Solving Brief
Therapy in Action 172
Karin Schlanger and Esther Krohner
18 Frida Kahlo is Sassy 183
Clara Haydee Solís Ponce and Pedro Vargas Avalos
Contents ix
19 Beyond Reason and Insight: The 180-Degree Turn in
Therapeutic Interventions 193
Terry Soo-Hoo
20 They Said What?: Themes and Lessons 209
Michael F. Hoyt and Monte Bobele
Index 223