英文原文
How to Use the Miracle Question in Therapy: 3 Examples
The Miracle Question is a solution-focused tool that helps visualize a future without current problems, fostering hope & clarity. By describing detailed changes post-miracle, individuals can identify actionable steps towards desired outcomes. This technique encourages a shift from problem-thinking to goal-oriented solutions, enhancing personal & therapeutic growth.
For the therapist, the intervention has the power to explore clients’ hidden resources and find solutions to their existing problems. The miracle question opens the door to the client’s possibilities for therapy. It does this by simply asking them to consider what an alternate reality might look like – one in which things are different, better, and problems are resolved.
This article explores the miracle question and how to use it in Solution-Focused Therapy with individuals and groups. The miracle question is a popular intervention in Solution-Focused Therapy. It asks the client to imagine and discuss a possible world where problems are removed and issues addressed.
The question may take various forms, such as asking the client, “Assume your problem has been solved. What is different?” Or, “Assume your problem is gone. What does this mean to you?” For the therapist, the intervention can “build a good storyline and lead the client to envision how different their life would be if a miracle happened overnight.”
The answers provided offer insights to the client while supporting the overall definition of the goals for therapy. Asking and answering the question involves “proposing and negotiating language that satisfies both therapist and client,” intending to achieve a meaningful understanding of their needs and hopes.
The focus of SFT is on “what is preferred and helpful to clients in attaining their goals.” Clients typically find SFT a helpful approach in which the therapeutic dialogue works to construct the therapeutic outcomes. The miracle question prompts and motivates negotiation between therapist and client. When introduced into the session, it typically offers a departure from the prior dialogue. The conversation then proceeds to work out the full meaning of the answer given.
The therapist must tailor the question according to the client’s experiences, language, and understanding to ensure it is appropriately understood, considered, and answered. After all, it is a big question that may not be easy to answer; it invites the client to reflect on broader issues and engage in what-if thinking.
The power of the miracle question is to bring clarity to the therapeutic process while strengthening the therapeutic alliance through the client’s presentation of their problem.
The purpose of the miracle question in therapy includes generating a virtual vision of what life would be like if a miracle occurred, preparing the client for exceptions to the problem, glimpsing a world in which the problem is no longer present, either temporarily or permanently, and creating a progressive narrative where the client’s life is pictured as becoming better rather than worse.
For the therapist and client, the response to the miracle question becomes “the common ground upon which the two agree to build a new foundation.”
Three examples of the miracle question in action demonstrate its application. In individual therapy, the therapist might ask, “Imagine going about your life as normal and heading off to sleep at the usual time. Unknown to you, during the night, something happens – a miracle. When you wake up the following day, something exciting has happened. The very problem that brought you to see me today is no longer there. What would be the very first difference you would notice in your life?”
Helpful follow-up questions include: “How will you know the miracle has happened? What will others notice about you that makes them aware things are different or better? What would their reaction be? What would you do next? What would we see if we compared a before and after picture? Have you ever seen elements of this happen before?”
In marriage therapy, responses might include: “We would spend more time with each other like we used to.” or “My wife would have an interest in me again like when we first started dating.”
The miracle question can also be used in group settings, such as with survivors of natural disasters, including children as young as six. Working in families or larger groups, the process “can facilitate adaptive coping, immediate solution-building,” and provide an opportunity to share essential strategies to discuss emotions, fears, and needs.
Other helpful psychology techniques include exception questions and scaling questions. Exception questions reflect upon exceptions to the present problems in the client’s life, discovering clients’ previous successes and amplifying the client’s strengths. Scaling questions provide a useful way to assess a client’s progress toward their goals.
The miracle question is incredibly valuable for the client and the therapeutic process; indeed, “when therapists are taught that the miracle question is a tool for creating hope, their faith in their clients will increase, and their anxiety will decrease as a result.” Therapists can adopt the miracle question as a powerful tool for encouraging further conversation and uncovering the deeper drives that brought the client to their office for help.
中文翻译
如何在治疗中使用奇迹提问：三个案例
奇迹提问是一种焦点解决工具，帮助人们想象一个没有当前问题的未来，培养希望和清晰度。通过描述奇迹发生后的详细变化，个人可以识别实现期望结果的可操作步骤。这种技术鼓励从问题思维转向目标导向的解决方案，增强个人和治疗成长。
对于治疗师来说，这种干预有能力探索客户的隐藏资源并找到他们现有问题的解决方案。奇迹提问打开了客户治疗可能性的大门。它通过简单地询问他们考虑一个替代现实可能是什么样子来实现这一点——一个事情不同、更好、问题得到解决的世界。
本文探讨了奇迹提问以及如何在个体和团体中使用焦点解决疗法。奇迹提问是焦点解决疗法中一种流行的干预措施。它要求客户想象并讨论一个可能的世界，在那里问题被移除，问题得到解决。
这个问题可能采取各种形式，例如询问客户，“假设你的问题已经解决。有什么不同？”或者，“假设你的问题消失了。这对你意味着什么？”对于治疗师来说，这种干预可以“构建一个好的故事情节，引导客户想象如果奇迹在一夜之间发生，他们的生活会有多么不同。”
提供的答案为客户提供见解，同时支持治疗目标的整体定义。提问和回答涉及“提出和协商满足治疗师和客户双方的语言”，旨在实现对他们需求和希望的有意义理解。
SFT的重点是“客户在实现目标时偏好和有益的东西”。客户通常发现SFT是一种有帮助的方法，其中治疗对话致力于构建治疗结果。奇迹提问促使并激励治疗师和客户之间的协商。当引入会话时，它通常提供了与先前对话的偏离。然后对话继续进行，以解决所给答案的全部含义。
治疗师必须根据客户的经验、语言和理解来定制问题，以确保它被适当地理解、考虑和回答。毕竟，这是一个可能不容易回答的大问题；它邀请客户反思更广泛的问题并进行假设性思考。
奇迹提问的力量在于为治疗过程带来清晰度，同时通过客户呈现他们的问题来加强治疗联盟。
治疗中奇迹提问的目的包括生成如果奇迹发生生活会是什么样子的虚拟愿景，为客户准备问题的例外情况，瞥见一个问题不再存在的世界，无论是暂时还是永久，并创建一个渐进式的叙述，其中客户的生活被描绘成变得更好而不是更糟。
对于治疗师和客户来说，对奇迹提问的回应成为“双方同意建立新基础的共同基础。”
奇迹提问的三个行动案例展示了其应用。在个体治疗中，治疗师可能会问，“想象一下像往常一样生活，在通常的时间睡觉。你不知道的是，在夜间，发生了某事——一个奇迹。当你第二天醒来时，发生了令人兴奋的事情。今天带你来看我的那个问题不再存在。你会在生活中注意到的第一个不同是什么？”
有帮助的后续问题包括：“你怎么知道奇迹已经发生？别人会注意到你什么，让他们意识到事情不同或更好？他们的反应会是什么？你接下来会做什么？如果我们比较前后图片，我们会看到什么？你以前见过这种情况发生吗？”
在婚姻治疗中，回应可能包括：“我们会像以前一样花更多时间在一起。”或“我妻子会再次对我感兴趣，就像我们刚开始约会时一样。”
奇迹提问也可以在团体环境中使用，例如与自然灾害幸存者，包括年仅六岁的儿童。在家庭或更大的团体中工作，这个过程“可以促进适应性应对、即时解决方案构建”，并提供分享基本策略的机会，以讨论情绪、恐惧和需求。
其他有帮助的心理学技术包括例外提问和量表提问。例外提问反思客户生活中当前问题的例外情况，发现客户以前的成功并放大客户的优势。量表提问提供了一种评估客户向目标进展的有用方式。
奇迹提问对客户和治疗过程非常有价值；确实，“当治疗师被教导奇迹提问是创造希望的工具时，他们对客户的信心会增加，他们的焦虑会因此减少。”治疗师可以采用奇迹提问作为一个强大的工具，鼓励进一步的对话并揭示客户寻求帮助的更深层驱动力。
文章概要
本文介绍了焦点解决疗法中的奇迹提问技术，通过三个案例展示了其在个体和团体治疗中的应用。奇迹提问通过引导客户想象问题解决后的未来，帮助他们从问题思维转向目标导向的解决方案，识别可操作步骤，培养希望和清晰度。文章详细说明了奇迹提问的目的、形式、后续问题以及与其他技术如例外提问和量表提问的结合使用，强调了其在增强治疗联盟、促进个人成长和解决实际问题中的价值。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：想象一下，如果你一觉醒来，所有困扰你的问题都像魔法一样消失了，你的生活会有哪些不一样？奇迹提问就是这样一个有趣的游戏，它让你闭上眼睛，想想如果奇迹发生，你会注意到什么变化，别人会看到你做什么不同的事情，然后你就可以找到一些小步骤，让这个美好的未来慢慢变成现实。就像玩一个“如果……会怎样”的想象游戏，帮助你从烦恼中跳出来，看到更多可能性。
焦点解决心理学理论评价：奇迹提问是焦点解决短期治疗中的核心干预技术，它完美体现了该理论的目标导向和资源取向原则。通过引导客户构建一个没有问题的未来愿景，它巧妙地避开了对问题的过度分析，转而聚焦于客户的内在资源和潜在解决方案。这种技术不仅促进了希望感和能动性，还通过具体化的描述帮助客户将模糊的愿望转化为可操作的目标，体现了“小改变带来大不同”的哲学。它赞美了客户想象未来的能力，并将这种能力转化为治疗过程中的积极动力。
在实践上可以应用的领域和可以解决人们的十个问题：奇迹提问可广泛应用于职场发展、婚姻家庭、教育辅导、创伤康复、团体建设等领域。它可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 职业迷茫时找到前进方向；2. 工作压力大时看到轻松可能；3. 人际关系紧张时想象和谐场景；4. 缺乏自信时描绘成功画面；5. 生活单调时创造丰富体验；6. 沟通困难时设想流畅对话；7. 目标模糊时明确具体愿景；8. 情绪低落时激发积极感受；9. 团队冲突时共建合作未来；10. 个人成长时规划进步路径。每个应用都展现了客户面向未来的无限潜能和创造性解决问题的能力。