Healing the Whole Person: A Solution-Focused Approach to Using Empowering Language, Emotions, and Actions in Therapy

Spurred on by popular demand as well as the modern managed care system, solution-focused psychotherapy has evolved rapidly in recent years. A refreshingly practical alternative to traditional psychotherapeutic approaches, brief, solution-focused therapy rapidly identifies a client’s most pressing problem and marshals personal resources to bring swift relief.

Yet, despite the vast and growing demand for short-term psychotherapy, there continues to be a dearth of expert guides for solution-focused treatment. Written by a therapist with nearly a quarter century’s experience in pioneering solution-focused techniques, this book fills the gap in the literature.

The approach described in Healing the Whole Person represents the culmination of years of pioneering work in brief, solution-focused psychotherapy. Proven highly effective in interventions with a wide range of behavioral and relationship problems, it combines established methodologies—including language techniques pioneered by the likes of Milton Erickson, Steve de Shazer, and Bill O’Hanlon—with original emotional and body interventions.

Therapist Robert McNeilly offers down-to-earth discussion of basic principles of solution-focused techniques, followed by step-by-step guidance to interventions with clients of all ages, as well as families and couples. With the help of fascinating and instructive case studies and vignettes, he describes techniques for interventions with anxiety, depression, insomnia, eating disorders, stress, relationship problems, and other common behavioral problems.

Emphasizing techniques that promote the interconnectedness of language, the emotions, and the body, McNeilly describes how to rapidly establish a solid rapport with clients; pose change-provoking questions; transform negative emotions into positive ones; deal with resistant or hostile clients; and use exercise, breathing, posture, and meditation to help enlist the body’s resources to encouragepositive change.

A groundbreaking guide to state-of-the-art thinking and practices in brief, short-term psychotherapy, Healing the Whole Person is an indispensable resource for all mental health professionals.

A comprehensive introduction to conducting solution-oriented therapy, written by a pioneer in the field.

In this groundbreaking book, solution-focused pioneer Robert McNeilly shares his proven techniques for swiftly resolving behavioral and relationship problems and promoting positive, lasting change in clients. Emphasizing techniques that promote the interconnectedness of language, emotions, and the body, McNeilly provides step-by-step guidance to working with individuals suffering a wide range of common problems, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, eating disorders, stress, and more.

McNeilly also provides guidelines for working with couples and families. Packed with helpful dialogues, scenarios, homework exercises, and other valuable tools that can be easily integrated into virtually any practice, this book is a valuable resource for both new practitioners and those already using solution-focused techniques.

ROBERT B. MCNEILLY, MBBS, DObstRCOG, is a psychotherapist in private practice and founder of The Centre of Effective Therapy, Melbourne in Australia. Educated at the University of Melbourne and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Dr. McNeilly worked as a family physician from 1967 until 1977, when, inspired by his association with solution-oriented therapy pioneer Milton Erickson, he left medicine to start a psychotherapy practice of his own. His other book is Healing with Words (with Jenny Brown).