Skills’ Symptoms® is a registered trademark for a model/method in which problems are seen as symptoms of skills rather than problems.
In the Skills’ Symptoms® method, problems are considered to be the result of skills being focused in an undesirable way. Through conscious practice, skills can also be used in a way that promotes well-being and thus be utilized in solving problems.
The Skills’ Symptoms® method is based on the researched principles of solution-focused psychotherapy. It is a positive approach and discussion model.
One of the principles of the Skills’ Symptoms® method is that problems created by the imagination are seen as imagination and problems created by the imagination are also treated by means of imagination. If problems created by the imagination are treated as real problems and dealt with using methods for treating real problems, problems that do not actually exist are being treated.
The Skills’ Symptoms® method opens up new perspectives and increases flexibility. The method emphasizes the client’s expertise and strengthens the client’s agency in their own life.
The Skills’ Symptoms® method also increases hopefulness in situations where it is not possible to completely eliminate the symptoms.
The Skills’ Symptoms® method is based on:
- The principles of solution-focused therapy
- The Skills’ Symptoms® stages
- Skills’ Symptoms® conversation and discussion models
- Skills’ Symptoms® exercises
The Skills’ Symptoms® method is suitable for use in psychotherapy and other therapeutic work. It is a method that can be used in a variety of environments and encounters.
In Skills’ Symptoms® method the client comes to therapy with a problem, but leaves with a skill.
For example in Skills’ Symptoms® method the rich imagination is seen to cause problems only when it is seen as a problem. Once it’s started to be seen and shown as a skill, it turns from the problem into strength which can be used for achieving the goals the client has.
If the products of the imagination are treated as real, isn’t it a bit like analyzing a child’s bogeyman and making a bogeyman treatment plan?
This is what we do with children under the guise of play, but with adults we treat it as a real issue.
Welcome to the Skills’ Symptoms® method, where symptoms are seen as skills that are directed in an undesirable direction, and the products of the imagination are treated with the same skill with which they were created, utilizing, for example, the skill of rich imagination.
I am Maarit Pietiläinen, a Solution-Focused Psychotherapist, Master of Health Care, Clinical Specialist in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care, and a Bachelor of Culture and Arts. I am also a Brief Therapist (IASTI Certification) and am undergoing further training in crisis and trauma psychotherapy at Turku Summer University, in clinical hypnotherapy at the Scientific Hypnosis Association, and as a Solution-Focused Trainer-Psychotherapist at the University of Eastern Finland. For more information, visit www.pietimaa.fi