Coaching practices for Social Problem Solving Therapy

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Social Problem Solving Therapy, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I’ve got a few options on the table but I keep drifting toward whichever one scares me least instead of whichever would actually fix things
• I’ve got maybe two ideas for what to do about this and both feel hopeless, so I shoot every other thought down before I even finish it
• The second a problem lands my gut reaction is "of course, this is just me, I can’t handle anything"
• I finally tried something and it only half-worked, and my whole brain went "see, nothing I do ever works"
• It feels like this is just how I am

Practices that may help

1. Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
   Problem-Solving Therapy (PST), developed by Nezu and D’Zurilla, treats depression and anxiety by building structured, step-by-step problem-solving skills — targeting the learned helplessness and avoidance that occur when people face stressful life problems without an effective coping framework. Multiple randomised trials support PST for depression, especially when linked to real-life problem load.
2. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works
   Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
3. Collaborative Problem Solving (Ross Greene)
   Ross Greene’s Collaborative Problem Solving model holds that kids with explosive behavior lack the cognitive skills to handle frustration and inflexibility — not the motivation. The approach replaces punitive consequences with structured adult–child conversations that build lagging skills over time. Randomized trials in clinical settings show significant reductions in explosive behavior, though most real-world evidence is clinical and observational.
4. Evaluate solutions against costs, benefits, and fit
   Rate each solution on likelihood of success, personal costs, and fit with your values.
   Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
5. Generate solutions without premature evaluation
   List as many potential solutions as possible before judging any of them.
   Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
6. Build a positive problem orientation
   Treat problems as normal, solvable challenges rather than signs of personal failure.
   Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
7. Evaluate the outcome and adjust
   After implementing, honestly assess what worked, what didn’t, and what to do next.
   Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
8. Exception Finding: When Is the Problem Already Less Severe?
   Identify times when the problem was absent or less severe — these are evidence that solutions already exist.
   Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works
9. Move to problem-solving only after understanding is mutual
   Problem-solving before mutual understanding produces solutions neither party owns.
   Looping for Understanding (Difficult Conversations)
10. Solve problems collaboratively to access your ZPD
    Joint problem-solving with a peer or coach reveals capability you could not reach alone.
    Zone of Proximal Development: Learning at Your Real Edge

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.