My strength: a look outside the box at the strengths perspective.

When I was in the second grade, my teacher asked us to do a book report: just a plain old book report where you stand in front of the class and you regurgitate the story line of a book that you recently read. As was my style, however, reading nervously from behind a piece of wide-ruled notebook paper just wasn't my schtick. I chose to act out the book report instead, much to the astonishment of my teacher. She wasn't used to my dramatic flare. I recall using a blue plastic bottle, which was shaped like a genie's lamp, as a prop. It was my proxy for a turnip that was in the story. In my imagination, it worked quite well, and my presentation was a hit. I used my strengths for creativity and theatrics to complete the assignment because I was allowed to believe that I could. This story came to mind when I was talking to a colleague about the strengths perspective. I realized that I had always thought outside the proverbial box, even as a second-grader. I was attending a training session on the perspective at Kansas University several years ago. It just clicked for me. Since that time, I have continued to work in the mental health field and truly feel a passion for my chosen profession and for the strengths perspective. I have continued to use this model in my daily work with clients, and from my grade-school skit to present day, my work has been enhanced because I have truly adopted it as a way of thinking about life in general. The perspective makes several assumptions about the human condition. One assumption is that all people have strengths that enable them to move forward. Another assumption is that people are more motivated to move toward things they want than away from things that they don't want. People are also more motivated to work toward a goal that they have set for themselves than one that an expert has set on their behalf. This is self-determination, and I have found that when individuals are allowed to determine their own destiny, it is a very powerful thing. The strengths model also assumes that all people have the capacity to change; it does not promise, however, that all will. The process of discovering strengths and exploring goals tends to bring about as much change as years of traditional therapy. I have had many clients tell me about years of therapy in which they would dissect problems and focus on their own pathologies and what was "wrong" with them. These processes lasted as long as 15 years with little change or reduction of symptoms. These same clients recently have made tremendous positive changes in their lives by focusing on their goals and looking at issues through a different lens. They have made these changes in a year and sometimes a few months. These changes result from helping clients realize that their symptoms are merely a hurdle that they are facing, not a brick wall. Through a strengths-based approach, they have come to believe that any obstacle can be overcome--some they just have to go around, over, under, or simply kick out of the way! Progress occurred because they began to focus on what they wanted to accomplish and because they were encouraged to believe that they have a right to have dreams and goals. By working toward these goals, it is amazing to me every time to see those unwanted symptoms dwindle, diminish, and in some cases, disappear. Some colleagues say that the strengths perspective sets people up for disappointment. By allowing clients to believe that they can do anything, any minor failure can cause a tremendous setback. …