Miracles, Dreams, and Empowerment: A Brief Therapy Practice Note

Abstract

When beginning therapy, most clients have a sense of powerlessness (sense of external locus of control) in some, if not most, areas of their lives. A person with a sense of powerlessness perceives forces outside themselves as having more to do with success In goal attainment than their own actions. Clinical intervention, therefore, should be empowering to clients. The miracle question is a key Intervention of solution-focused therapy. According to the miracle question, the source of client change is due to the miracle (something external to the client) and not something generated by the client. This article discusses a modification of the miracle question called the dream question. As a result of the dream question, clients can discover the solutions they are seeking within themselves and, thus, have a greater sense of personal power and Internal locus of control. Experience with the dream question so far has been quite positive.