Miracle Question Research Articles

Effects of a Nursing Intervention Based on a Solution-Focused Approach on Renal Transplant Recipients’ Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life

Objective. To explore the effects of a nursing intervention based on a solution-focused approach on improving renal transplant recipients’ anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Methods. A total of 75 eligible recipients who underwent renal transplantation were recruited and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The renal transplantation recipients in the intervention group received nursing intervention based on a solution-focused approach (SFA) developed by the research group. The SFA intervention included the following five stages: describing the problem, developing well-formed goals, exploring for exceptions, end of session feedback, and evaluating progress. Additional methods, such as empowerment, miracle questions, and scale mark questions, were included. The intervention began after informed consent, and baseline data were collected at admission, with each participant receiving five interventions lasting 30–60 minutes. The featured methods and five stages of the SFA could be interspersed and used repeatedly. The follow-up was performed at one, three, and six months postoperation. The control group received the usual care of comparable length and follow-up contact. The anxiety, depression, and quality of life of renal transplant recipients were measured and recorded using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Life Scale for Patients of Renal Transplantation (QOL-RT). A trained research nurse collected all the baseline and follow-up data. Results. The baseline information of the patients, such as gender, age, BMI, endogenous creatinine clearance, anxiety, and depression, was similar between the two groups ( P > 0.05). The total scores of HADS (A), HADS (D), and total HADS in both groups showed a downward trend. The intervention group exhibited significantly lower HADS (A) (4.21 ± 1.85) and total HADS scores (7.81 ± 3.31) one month after surgery than the control group in the same period (5.50 ± 2.44 and 9.85 ± 4.19, respectively; P < 0.05). Fewer people in the intervention group had a HADS (A) score ≥8 than those in the control group at one month ( P < 0.05). Depression in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group at three and six months ( P < 0.05). The total QOL-RT scores of the intervention group at one month (126.54 ± 9.62), three months (137.02 ± 7.69), and six months (144.89 ± 7.53) were higher than those of the control group (119.50 ± 11.58, 128.8 ± 10.80, and 138.61 ± 9.09, respectively; P < 0.05). Furthermore, the scores of the physiological function dimensions and treatment dimensions of the QOL-RT in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group at one, three, and six months after the intervention ( P < 0.05). The scores of the social function dimension in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group at three and six months after the intervention ( P < 0.05). Conclusion. Nursing intervention based on the SFA improved anxiety and depression among renal transplant recipients, thereby improving their quality of life.

Brief computerised self-help interventions, the “Miracle Question,” and the moderating effects of openness-to-experience

Brief, self-help positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have certain advantages over longer, guided interventions (e.g. higher completion rates). The “Miracle Question(s)” – the most famous intervention in solution-focused therapy and coaching – appears to be a promising brief, self-help PPI. However, very little experimental research on the “Miracle Question” has been conducted. The present study investigated the effects of a brief self-help MQ intervention on several aspects of wellbeing, including hope, expectancy, goal clarity and affect. The MQ intervention was compared against both a problem-focused and neutral coaching approach. Three online experiments were conducted with participants aged 18-76 across the world. Two experiments focused on “life problems” whilst the third focused on problems in interpersonal relationships. Results suggested that all three interventions raise expectancy in the context of life (but not relationship) problems. However, as hypothesised, the relative effects of such interventions may depend on openness-to-experience. At high[low] levels of openness-to-experience, the MQ technique was more[less] effective than the problem-focused or neutral coaching interventions, at least for some aspects of wellbeing. The study sheds much-needed light on the MQ technique and on brief self-help interventions. Widely recommended as a means of enhancing wellbeing, the MQ technique may not be universally effective (in a self-help format) and requires further investigation. On the other hand, the study suggests that brief self-help computerized PPIs may indeed be enthusiastically adopted, especially when compared with longer interventions.

Supplementary information for: Brief computerised self-help interventions, the “Miracle Question,” and the moderating effects of openness-to-experience

Supplementary information for: Brief computerised self-help interventions, the “Miracle Question,” and the moderating effects of openness-to-experience

How is the Muslim Counselor's Experience in Implementing Single-Session Online Counseling on Adolescent?

Effective and efficient counseling service interventions are the goal of every counselor in providing psychological assistance to adolescents. This study aims at describing the Muslim counselors' experience in implementing single-session online counseling services focusing on solutions for adolescents. Before the researchers conducted this study, first of all, they were preparing instruments, and a list of questions, as an interview guide for data collection. After the data collection process, the researchers analyzed and interpreted the data. Data were analyzed using a qualitative approach through thematic analysis. The data were then classified into three sub-themes; Namely creating a safe and comfortable online counseling relationship, basic communication skills in online counseling, and time management in online counseling. The results show that relationship building in online counseling services requires counselors' acceptance, strategy, and self-disclosure. During the online counseling process, counselors need to apply basic counseling skills and specific techniques in solution-focused single-session counseling strategies. They are scaling questions, miracle questions, and exception questions. Time management in the implementation of online counseling is also a challenge for counselors. Flexible time needs to be managed properly so as not to hinder the counseling process.

Just and sustainable transformed agricultural landscapes: An analysis based on local food actors’ ideal visions of agriculture

Societal and policy trends are leading to major demands on food systems, including a transformation towards more sustainable and resilient farming systems. Research is increasingly highlighting the importance of considering the landscape scale in such transformations, with the understanding that such an approach will require agricultural landscape design informed through trans-disciplinary approaches. Despite a number of sustainability transformations advocated in the scientific literature, there may, however, be very different views amongst actors of the food chain, from producers to consumers, over what such a transformed landscape should look like, leading to potential social conflicts and lack of progress towards transformative change. This has led authors to suggest a need to understand better the visions of a transformed agriculture from the perspectives of food system actors, including rural communities and farmers. This paper contributes to this debate by analysing stakeholder visions based on a case study in Bourgogne Franche-Comté (France) with three study sites involving: agriculture and water management near Auxerre, apiculture-agriculture in the Jura, and viticulture near Macon. Using the results of 55 interviews that included a ‘miracle question’ over what an ideal agriculture might look like, five ideal visions were identified: a recognised agriculture; a diverse agriculture; an anchored agriculture; a predictable agriculture; and a technological agriculture. Building on the differences and commonalities of the different visions, the results allow for the identification of areas of consensus, and also, where there are irreconcilable values and worldviews underpinning the views, how to address them. The process of visioning can be an important approach to promote greater understanding of different stakeholders’ visions and transformation towards greater sustainability, especially when the resulting visions become the starting point of participatory processes and outcomes at the landscape scale.

Acceptance and commitment therapy and its unacknowledged influences: Some old wine in a new bottle?

Recently, Goldfried suggested that one main reason for the underdevelopment of psychotherapy as a scientific enterprise was the lack of acknowledgment of past contributions. In this article, this issue is illustrated by analysing the particular case of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT has clear overlaps with therapies from the systemic tradition, such as strategic therapy in the line of the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto and with the more recent models of solution-focused therapy and narrative therapy. This article analyses theoretical overlaps with these models (e.g. the paradoxical nature of human problems and the nature of language) as well as examples of similarities in therapeutic strategies (externalization and the miracle question). It concludes by suggesting that this practice of inadvertently obliterating the past does not favour the development of the field or the creation of consensus but rather contributes to the ongoing proliferation of 'new' psychotherapy models. Trends that may contribute to circumventing this problem are discussed.

Parents in couple therapy: An intervention targeting marital and coparenting relationships.

This article describes the treatment framework and core therapeutic principles of the integrative brief systemic intervention (IBSI), a manualized six‐session intervention intended for parents seeking couple therapy. IBSI aims to work on the couple's presenting problem, considering its specific impact in the marital and coparenting domains. The basic premise of IBSI is to consider that, when working with couples who have children, therapeutic work on their coparenting alliance may be used as a lever, as both parents may be particularly motivated to improve their relationship for their children's benefit. Increasing the coparenting alliance may then facilitate work on deeper conflicts within the marital relationship. The core therapeutic principles of IBSI are: (1) joining with the couple as romantic partners and a coparenting team from the start of the therapeutic process; (2) supporting the parents in increasing their awareness regarding their children's behavior and emotional experiences when facing their parents’ conflicts; and (3) working on the spill‐ and cross‐over effects between marital and coparenting relationships (i.e., exploring how conflict or positivity spills over from one relationship to the other or crosses over from one partner to the other). Therapeutic work following these main therapeutic principles is expected to improve the quality of both relationships. A clinical case is provided to illustrate the core therapeutic principles of IBSI.

Advancing Food System Transformation and Addressing Conflicts Through Transdisciplinary Methodologies: Strengths and Limitations of the Community Voice Method, T-Labs, Film-Making and the Miracle Question

Food systems are changing through various socioeconomic and policy processes. For example, in France, following concerns over the effects of pesticides on ecosystems and health, the French government launched the “Ecophyto II+” plan in 2019 that aims for a 50% reduction in the use of pesticides by 2025. This top-down food system transformation is leading to conflicts between stakeholders over how to enact such a policy, and its implications for farmers and their practices. By adopting a transdisciplinary research approach, we explore conflicts linked to food system transformations in the context of three case studies in France. The case studies revolve around conflicts over pesticide use and reduction in three agricultural settings in Bourgogne Franche-Comté, namely (a) water management near Auxerre, (b) apiculture-agriculture relations in the Jura, and (c) viticulture-local resident relationships near Macon. We use four innovative transdisciplinary techniques to integrate inclusively the viewpoints of diverse stakeholders with the aim of generating actionable responses to transform food systems. First, the Community Voice Method (CVM) includes filmed semi-structured interviews and integrates a number of opportunities for participation and successive rounds of data analysis. Second, the interviewees were asked a “miracle question” that encouraged them to step back from conflicts and practices toward their ideal vision of agriculture and food systems. Third, the CVM resulted in the production of four films that relate the visions and perception of each case study interviewees in their own words and in their own setting. Finally, Transformation Labs (T-Labs) conveyed the main results of the CVM knowledge synthesis through the films produced and opened a dialogue toward the development of solutions. We review the four techniques, how they were implemented in the three case studies, and with which outcomes. Thus the aim of this paper is to offer reflections and lessons learnt from different transdisciplinary processes as a means of strengthening their application in other contexts. We argue that such methodologies, whilst resource-consuming, are essential to fully understand the complexity of food system transformations from the often-conflictual perspectives and competing knowledge claims of the multiple actors involved. In addition, we highlight the role of these techniques in building long-term trust between researchers and other stakeholders, and the benefits in terms of opening up dialogue and developing long-term solutions, as determined by the stakeholders themselves.

A Multiple Case Study Examining the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Experiences of Couples Raising Children with ASD

ABSTRACT The aim of this qualitative case study is to understand the experiences of receiving solution-focused brief therapy for couples raising a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Five couples received six sessions of solution-focused brief couples therapy (SFBT) and were interviewed after the first, third, and last therapy sessions. Couples engaged in a semi-structured interview and were asked about their experiences in therapy. After using descriptive and in vivo coding to analyze the fifteen transcripts, the codes were placed into major themes. The six themes include: (a) therapy as a “blessing”; (b) positive experiences with the therapist; (c) helpful conversations; (d) reactions to the miracle question; (e) clarifying the couple and co-parent identity; and (f) the growth of the parent-child relationship. The current study is the first to identify parents’ experiences of treatment, while raising a child with ASD.

Impact of Self and Therapists’ Evaluation of Responses to Miracle Question and Goal: Survey of Japanese Undergraduate and Graduate Students 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇮🇷 🇪🇸

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a psychotherapy which does not focus on the problem, but on the clarification of the goal state and the extension of the exception. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of both clients’ and therapists’ evaluations of goal clarification on the variables which is considered important in SFBT. A total of 223 participants who responded to all questionnaires were the subject of the analysis. The results of this study showed a correlation between self and therapists’ evaluations for the imagination of the Miracle Question, the concreteness of the goal, and the reality of the goal. On the other hand, none of the relationships were strongly correlated, confirming that the self evaluation and the therapists’ evaluation differed to a certain extent. Goal-related evaluation by the therapist had a positive impact on solution building, solution orientation, and causal analysis. Besides, self evaluation related to Miracle Question and goal had a positive impact on self-efficacy and degree of problem-solving. These findings indicate that self and therapists’ evaluations related to Miracle Question and goal have a diverse effect on problem-solving. Chinese (Simplified) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wRiZiT8RXbGOysgU-s5NzQH3V1fVrxMX/view?usp=drive_link) French (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nPckwea2c9k6L8Oc6oyMEdd7TDdE3t_Z/view?usp=drive_link) German (https://drive.google.com/file/d/13V6t1q0OXmP8A0-VkdTmXr2ObpGFCIwF/view?usp=drive_link) Persian (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Puc3WE4XW3n5ao-saXsOamCex2HCaAwl/view?usp=drive_link) Spanish (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LCKBV0vN6NruOldgYf5Fm48UcVNAdg1w/view?usp=drive_link)

Solution-focused Brief Counseling Guidebook: Theoretical Validity and Effectiveness in Reducing Student’s Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is one of the psychological problems faced by most of students. Several research findings have revealed negative effects that arise due to the high level of social anxiety experienced by students. Based on this phenomenon, schools play a major role in efforts to minimize the level of social anxiety experienced by students through optimizing guidance and counseling services. This research and development aim at testing the acceptability and effectiveness a solution-focused brief counseling guidebook to minimize students' social anxiety. The development procedure using 4D steps, such as, define, design, develop, and desimination of the product. The amount five judgment involve to validating the contents of guidebook. For the piloting, one group pretest-post test experimental procedure involve 15 junior high school students. The data analysis for judgments results show that the counseling guidebook developed in this study has a special content validity index (CVI). Based on the results of the piloting study, counseling guidebook a solution-focused brief counseling guidebook with the miracle question technique was effective in reducing students' social anxiety. The results of this study contribute to the optimization of guidance and counseling services in schools.

Teaching Note—Miracle Questioning as a Teaching Tool in Social Work

ABSTRACT The miracle question (MQ) is a technique for assessing clients’ ability to discover their potential in search of solutions. Educators can train students to use the classic MQ (What would life be without this problem?) to develop solution-focused skills in social work and counseling. This article describes the MQ Variations tool derived from the ‘Where, When, Who, What, and How’ (4W1H) questioning approach and the Virginia Satir’s Validation Model (VM). This tool aims to promote clinical teaching skills when educators ask students to develop follow-up clinical questions and provide debriefing opportunities to expand the use of the MQ in various forms. These questions can also test how students adapt the MQ techniques to empower clients to search for workable solutions.

Diabetes Education and Counseling Using Solution-Oriented Questions

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) utilizes the client’s strengths and resources to the fullest to achieve what the client wants, rather than looking at the client’s problem pathologically and digging deeper into analysis. Therefore, in this article, we would like to introduce a SFBT that can be usefully applied to the education and counseling of diabetic patients in the clinical field. Pre-session change questions, rewarding questions, miracle questions, exception-finding questions, scaling questions, relationship questions, and coping questions used in SFBT consist of the questions that allow the client to answer positively. In this process, a medical social worker pays full attention to remarks that suggest clues to the client’s potential for change, the change the client wants, past experiences that have been successful, and what has already been attempted to make the situation better. Also, when setting goals, it’s important to target positive behaviors rather than eliminate the problem and what’s important to the patient and small, specific, clear, and actionable things. SFBT no longer focuses on or talks about the client’s problem. The client has the resources and strengths to solve the problem. Rather than exploring the cause of the problem, it is important to find a clue to the solution and connect it to actual action, so you can use the solution question techniques to get the client to practice using their strengths. In the treatment field, we recommend that the client remember and ask a few questions with the belief that they can solve them on their own.

Experiencing the future: preservice teacher perceptions of the solution-focused brief coaching approach

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to describe teacher candidate perceptions of the influence of solution-focused brief coaching (SFBC) sessions on movement toward self-identified outcomes. The SFBC approach emanated from the London-based organization BRIEF: The Centre for Solution Focused Practice (BRIEF, n.d.).Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study engaged ten participants in two SFBC sessions. In the first coaching session, participants identified a “preferred future” and described what would be happening when it came to fruition. Coaches employed SFBC elements such as the “miracle question,” scaling questions, descriptions of strengths and recognition of resources already in place (Iveson et al., 2012). In the second session, following coaching, participants shared their perceptions and experiences of the SFBC process.FindingsAll participants reported movement toward desired outcomes, and their perceptions of the SFBC process revealed five themes: an increase in positive emotion, enhanced self-efficacy, value in the co-construction of their preferred future, the coaching process as a catalyst for actualizing their preferred future and adoption of a solution-focused lens in other contexts.Originality/valueThis study answers the call for additional research in three areas: it provides data from completed SFBC sessions, examines participant follow-up on progress toward their preferred futures and provides insight regarding the coaching relationship dynamic. In addition, it provides qualitative findings for the SFBC approach, which have traditionally been dominated by quantitative results.

Solution‐Focused versus Problem‐Focused Questions: Differential Effects of Miracles, Exceptions and Scales

The differential impact of solution‐focused brief therapy questions was tested. A total of 246 subjects described a personal problem they wanted to solve and were randomly assigned to one of four interventions that involved answering problem‐focused versus solution‐focused questions: a problem‐focused condition, a miracle condition, a scaling condition or an exception condition. Before and after answering the questions, participants completed measures of positive and negative affect, self‐efficacy, goal attainment, action steps and solution‐focused thinking. The miracle and exception conditions were more effective than the problem‐focused condition in reducing negative affect. The scaling condition generated more action steps than the miracle question or the exception question. These findings support solution‐focused ideas on the different effects of solution‐focused questions, but also suggest that solution‐focused and problem‐focused questions might be more similar than different in their immediate impact on clients.Practitioner points Solution‐focused and problem‐focused questions are more similar than different in their immediate impact on clients. Among solution‐focused questions, the miracle question and the exception question are more effective in reducing negative affect, and scaling questions in generating specific action steps. Integrative therapists could use solution‐focused questions not only with clients who seem more optimistic but also with less solution‐minded ones. ​

Novel Solutions to Student Problems: A Phenomenological Exploration of a Single Session Approach to Art Therapy With Creative Arts University Students.

Within the Australian university context, research has uncovered increasing levels of psychological distress, in the form of stress, anxiety and depression. Higher rates of psychological distress have been reported in undergraduate students specifically enrolled in creative arts programs. Despite these increasing levels of psychological distress, university students are reluctant to engage with mental health and wellbeing supports. To explore ways to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of creative arts university students, the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at The University of Melbourne commenced a project exploring the benefits and pitfalls of a brief creative arts therapies approach for students attending a campus based wellbeing clinic. This exploratory research study formed the art therapy component of this much broader research endeavor. Creative arts students in this research study were invited to participate in a single session art therapy encounter that involved the visual exploration of the miracle question, asking students to visually depict “what the problem looks like and how it will look when the problem is resolved or you feel like you can cope with it better?” The descriptive findings of this exploratory research study revealed how the combination of art therapy used within a single session framework was able to afford students a novel means to externalize problems, leading students to forming a less internalized view of the self.

The Feminist-Solution Focused Counseling vs. Psychoeducational Model: Which One is Better?

Feminist-solution focused counseling (F-SFC) refers to the integration of approaches that focuses on the solution and problem. It can be applied to help counselees with any issues on gender inequality. However, the effectiveness of F-SFC compared to the psychoeducational model still needs to be tested. The experimental study was chosen to test whether F-SFC is more effective than the psychoeducational model. The gender equality scale was used for the pre-test and the posttest. The data was collected using the Delphi method to formulate the concept of gender equality. T-test and ANCOVA were utilized to test the hypotheses. The results showed that both F-SFC and psychoeducational model were found effective to help counselees with gender equality issues. The effectiveness of the feminist-solution focused counseling was determined by the consistency of counselor in holding the counseling based upon the guidance of F-SFC. The increases of the understanding about gender equality can be seen from the counselees’ responses of the exceptional questions, miracle questions, scaling questions and coping questions in the counseling process. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the psychoeducational model was determined by the design of materials, media and facilitators.

Messias Jesus. Seine Geschichte, seine Botschaft und ihre Überlieferung

Messias Jesus. Seine Geschichte, seine Botschaft und ihre Überlieferung

Providing Immediate Hope to Survivors of Natural Disasters: A Miracle Question Intervention

Natural disasters can greatly impact the physical and psychological well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Experiencing the event is only the beginning of negative outcomes endured by families. The loss of a home, livelihood, possessions, and a sense of safety can cause depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and a vast array of other psychological challenges. This article proposes the use of the Miracle Question (MQ), an intervention from Solution focused Brief Therapy, for individuals and families recovering from a natural disaster. A case study example will also be provided to demonstrate the empathetic and effective use of the intervention.

A REVIEW OF ACADEMIC AMOTIVATION AND THE APPLICATION OF MIRACLE QUESTION AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Academic amotivation contributed to maladaptive functioning and negatively affected the academic engagement of adolescent students. This paper aimed to study on the application of the Miracle Question (MQ) in facilitating adolescents with academic amotivation. The present work also demonstrated the underlying theories of academic amotivation (i.e., Self-Determination Theory) and MQ (i.e., Solution-Focused Brief Therapy). A three-part process model and practical effects of MQ were included for practitioners such as school counselors and teachers to assist adolescents better. The main implication of this paper is to highlight the potential of MQ to stand alone as a primary technique in school counseling and teaching practices. More qualitative research on school-based interventions using MQ is recommended.