Ph.D. My present work with victims of trauma is based largely on holistic, humanistic and feminist principles, as well as influenced by the work of William Hudson O'Hanlon, Michele Weiner-Davis, and Yvonne Dolan. The client must possess some awareness or insight into the cause of the problem in order for change to occur.
Symptoms serve some purpose or function in the client's life.
Clients are ambivalent at best or do not really want to change. Because real change takes time, brief interventions do not provide lasting change. The focus should be identifying and correcting deficits and pathology. O'Hanlon and Davis reject the assumptions of such a pathology-based model and offer new assumptions based on health rather than sickness. Clients possess resources and strengths with which to resolve their problems.