Clarifying Who Owns the Problem

Who owns the problem?

-It is the person whose needs are not being met.

You should know who owns the problem for three very good reasons.

1. You will know who is responsible for solving the problem.

-You will not accept responsibility for problems that are not yours.

2. Meedling is disrespectful.

-You indicate that you are not sure other people have sense and insight to know what is best for them.

3. The client loses opportunities to grow.

-You interfere with what might be a very meaningful experience for the client. 

*Keep you clients in a position of authority over their lives to the greatest extent possible.

*Remind clients of how much of the resolution of the problem is their own doing.

*Make sure your clients have the opportunity to feel pride in their part in solving the problem.

If your client own the problem

Several important ways you can respond to your client's situation.

1. Listen-rather than providing a solution, be a resource to your client.

2. Give them options

3. Ask for their ideas

4. Leave the final decision up to them-you make sure that the client retains a position of power in their own life, and you act collaboratively.

When you allow clients to work on their own issues and problems, you respect their right to privacy and self-determination.

You give them an important opportunity to grow and work on their own behalf.

The extent to which you become involved in helping clients solve probles that belong to them is a strategic decision.

*In the professional relationship with your client;

-You want to decide strategically how much help to give and the extent in which you will step in.

-The decision is based on your knowledge about the client and about how this opportunity can be used to help your client grow.

The strategy lies in knowing your client's strengths and limitations and tailoring your involvement in those factors specifically.

-Avoid taking over simply because that is the easiest thing to do.

**When the client owns the problem, carefully decide the extent to which you will be involved.

With your knowledge of the system and your client's knowledge of their personal lives and circumstances, you will be able to construct a useful approach to clients' problems.

If you own the problem

If your needs are not being met, you will understand that the resolution of the problem is ultimately your responsibility.

In bringing up a problem we are having with another person, we are asking for that person's assistance in resolving it.

*Your clients have the right to determine the extent to which they want to help you.

*You need to be clear about who owns the problem.

If you both own the problem

Yow should not view it as a win-lose situation.

There are many ways to negotiate a solution.

-When you work on a solution collaboratively with the client, you provide the client with an important experience in problem solving.

-As the worker, you invite the client to join you in this effort.

Stop & Think

Good problem solving skills consist of the ability to recognize a problem which it arises, define the problem clearly and accurately produce a diversity of possible solutions, anticipate outcomes, formulate an effective action plan and carry out the action plan and carry other the action plan effectively.

I found this article to be important becuase a part of owning the problem involves problem solving skills.  This article states there is a considerable amount of evidence showing that poor problem-solving skills are associated with hostility and aggression in children and adolescent.  Children diagnosed with externalizing, aggressive disorders have been shown to use less information in defining problems, generate fewer alternative responses, be more confident in their use of aggression to solve problems, and have fewer moral qualms about the use of aggression.  These early problems are important since it is known that early aggression is a good predictor of later aggression.

Stop and Think is the formation of an action plan, consisting of specific, actionable task, to help people move on from expressing conern to taking action to solve problem.

Does lack of problem-solving skills affect a persons ability to own their problem?