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Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal

Volume 14, Number 4, August 1997

A Solution-Oriented Approach to
Working with Juvenile Offenders

Jacqueline Corcoran, Ph.D.


ABSTRACT: This article describes the ways in which a solution-focused practice approach is advantageous for social workers working in a variety of settings with juvenile offenders, due to its strengths-based and positive orientation. The general approach is discussed as well as specific techniques and
examples of applications, such as building a relationship with a juvenile offender who has been mandated into services, finding and amplifying exceptions to the problem and other resources and strengths, and setting goals
with the use of scaling questions.

Solution-focused therapy is one of the newest models to enter the psychotherapy movement. Influenced by a variety of theories, including
Eriksonian, MRI brief therapy, strategic, cognitive-behavioral, and
narrative models, the crux of the solution-oriented approach is a
unique emphasis on strengths and solutions rather than problems and
dysfunction. Solution-oriented therapy has been used with various
populations, including couples (Hudson & O'Hanlon, 1992; WienerDavis, 1992), sexual abuse survivors (Dolan, 1991; Durant & Kowalski, 1991), people with chemical addictions (Berg & Miller, 1992),
parents who are abusive (Berg, 1994), and middle and high school
students identified as "at-risk" for dropout in the school setting (Corcoran, under review). Although the use of the scaling technique from
solution-oriented therapy has been applied to youth and their families with a multitude of presenting concerns, including juvenile justice involvement (Franklin, Corcoran, Streeter, & Nowicki, under review), the use of a solution-focused approach with juvenile offenders
has not been applied in a systematic manner. However, the solutionJacqueline Corcoran, Ph.D., LMSW-ACP, is Assistant Professor, School of Social
Work, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas. Address communications to Jacqueline
Corcoran, Ph.D., LMSW-ACP, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington,
Box 19129, Arlington, Texas 76019.
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1997 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

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oriented approach has a number of advantages for the juvenile offending population. Not only does the positive, strengths-based perspective foster a more favorable view of the client and thus build a
foundation for change, the solution-oriented approach takes advantage of the present-focus typical of most adolescents and the tendency of juvenile offenders to avoid discussion of the past, problems,
and feelings, the traditional emphasis of many psychotherapies. Finally, the solution-oriented approach is directed toward change occurring in a brief time period, which is further suited to both the
realities of many practice settings as well as to the short attention
span of adolescent offenders and their non-voluntary status in
treatment.
The solution-oriented model as discussed in this article is based on
work with adolescents in a short-term alternative detention program
in which treatment services are delivered during home visits while
the offender is either awaiting trial or on probation. However, the
solution-focused techniques described here can easily be adapted for
use in other social work settings, such as casework, juvenile probation, and treatment services for juvenile offenders.

Joining with "the Visitor"


Solution-oriented writers discuss the importance of "joining" as the
initial stage of engagement (Berg, 1994; O'Hanlon & Weiner-Davis,
1989) in which the clinician builds rapport with the client and indicates non-judgmental concern and respect so that a stage for cooperative work can be built. Confrontations, lectures, and advice-giving,
methods typically employed by parents, teachers and other school
personnel, caseworkers, police, probation officers, and occasionally
even judges, usually not only not work, but often intensify the very
behavior one is trying to impact by forcing the client into a defensive
and more entrenched stance (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993).
When attempting to "join" with adolescent clients who have been
charged with crimes, the same general approach as suggested for
working with adult clients is involved: conversation about anything
other than the reason for the visitthe weather, the physical setting,
aspects of the client's life such as their families and the schools they
attend (O'Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989). Adolescent boys can be no-

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toriously noncommunicative.1 Rather than rushing in to fill silences,


the clinician can allow time for responses even when clients appear
reluctant to answer questions. Another good rule of thumb is to avoid
close-ended questions that can be answered by either "yes" or "no."
Otherwise workers might find themselves doing most of the talking.
When the adolescent seems more comfortable, some good lead-in
questions to the therapy include: "Who scheduled this appointment?"
and "Whose idea was it that you come here?" These questions immediately acknowledge the type of relationship that is usually the rule
for juvenile offenders and that is "the visitor." This concept comes
from a typology of client types most fully and clearly explicated in
Berg & Miller (1992). The three different client types are the customer, the complainant, and the visitor. The customer is the type of
client assumed to be present in most therapeutic models, the person
who voluntarily enters therapy willing to make changes. The complainant initially seems motivated, but their energy is focused on
someone else or another entity making changes, rather than themselves. The visitor is the non-voluntary type of client who comes to
therapy under some duress. For instance, with the juvenile offender,
it is usually juvenile probation and the court system mandating treatment although it is always sound procedure to ask the client whose
idea was it that he be involved in treatment. The answer to this question will clarify the kind of relationship the worker will have with the
client, customer, complainant, or visitor. The follow-up question to
this answer is then, "What does
need to see so that they
know you don't have to come here anymore?" (Berg, 1994). The answers this question provokes propels the process into goal-setting. An
illustration of this intervention will be provided with a 15-year-old
African-American male client charged with auto theft.
Social worker: Whose idea was it that you come here today?
Client: I don't know. (Pause). My caseworker, I guess. She was talking
to my grandma. She said I was sleeping all the time.
Social worker: What does your grandmother need to see so that she
knows you don't have to come here anymore?
1While females as well as males make up the juvenile offending population, male
perpetrators far outnumber females; hence, discussion may often indicate "males" even
though the female makeup of the juvenile offending population is acknowledged at
approximately 25% (Wilson & Howell) and the model can be applied with this female
segment.

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Client: I guess if I'm not sleeping like that. But I just sleep when I'm
tired, and sometimes I'm not tired.
Social worker: Tell me about the times you're not tired . . .

This last exchange by the social worker introduces the idea of exception-finding, the crux of the intervention stage.

Exceptions
The next stage of the intervention and an ongoing task of the clinician is to inquire about exceptions, times when the problem is not a
problem or is less of a problem (e.g., Berg, 1994; Berg & Miller, 1992;
Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993; Hudson & O'Hanlon, 1991; O'Hanlon &
Weiner-Davis, 1989). Through discovering exceptions, information
can be elicited on ways to solve the problem. These solution behaviors
can then be applied until the problem is no longer a problem. The
importance of the language used when asking exception questions
points to the narrative influence on solution-oriented therapy. For instance, questions related to exceptions are worded in presuppositional
phrasing to display the certainty that these exceptions do indeed occur (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993). An example of an exception-finding
question related to the above example is: "What's different about the
times when you have more energy?" rather than ". . . if you had more
energy...."
Examples of other exception-finding questions related to problems
common to adolescent offenders include the following: "What's different about the times you are able to avoid a fight?" "What's different
about the nights you come in on time?" "What's different about the
times you hang around friends who are good for you?" Whenever possible, goals are stated in positive terms; e.g., "friends who are good for
you" rather than "friends who are not gangsters."
As soon as an exception, no matter how small, has been identified,
the client is asked, "How do you get that to happen?" This question
functions as an intervention by not only eliciting information about
the client's actions to prevail over the problem, but it also encourages
the client to take credit for what has been done (O'Hanlon & WeinerDavis, 1989). The impact of their behavior on other people can also
emphasize the changes they have made as well as to indicate to them
that their actions have an effect on others. "Who else noticed that
(you are staying home, are clean from 'weed', are hanging
around different people)? What did they say or do to make you realize

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they noticed?" (O'Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989). By helping clients


identify and reinforce the actions they have taken, the exceptions
they have taken in the past become meaningful to them. Only in this
way can these exceptions ". . . become the springboard from which
further changes can occur." (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993, p. 98).
Another solution-focused suggestion is to discover how clients
solved similar difficulties in the past. In this way, a blueprint can be
drawn upon for overcoming present problems. For instance, when a
14-year-old African-American male was asked how he was able to
handle conflicts with his mother and sisters previously, he said going
to his room worked better than arguing. The question then asked
was, "What would you need to do to get that to happen again?"
(O'Hanlon & Hudson, 1989). Sometimes this question reveals that the
situation has altered in such a way that barriers are now posed to
applying the old solution. For example, in the above situation, the 14year-old revealed that because the family had moved into smaller
quarters, he no longer had his own room and was sleeping on the
couch. The clinician then discussed with the client how he could temporarily remove himself from a problematic situation until he calmed
down. Because a condition of his release from the juvenile detention
center was that he was unable to leave the apartment unless accompanied by his mother, options explored included the client secluding
himself in the bathroom for a short time, standing on the porch, or
verbally indicating to his mothers and sister that he did not want to
continue arguing and needed time for himself.
When clients are unable to come up with exceptions to the problem,
the social worker can inquire about times when the problem is
". . . less severe, frequent, intense or shorter in duration?" (O'Hanlon
& Weiner-Davis, 1989, p. 86). An example of this intervention can be
demonstrated with a frequent source of problems for offenders, i.e.
physical assaults. Although even the most hardened gang member
can usually talk about a tune when a fight was avoided, either by
"walking away," telling the person "he ain't worth getting into trouble
for," or "not listening when someone was messing with me," for the
occasional client who claims that he always fights when challenged,
the question can be asked, "When were you able to avoid going past
the shoving stage?" Even if clients state that another person outside
themselves was responsible for the exception ("A teacher broke us
up"), credit can still be given to the client for doing something to contribute to the solution: "So you picked a place for the fight where you
knew someone would stop you. Good idea." As can be seen from these

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examples, there is always a positive, strengths-based emphasis


placed on even serious circumstances.
Another way in which the social worker can be vigilant for these
strengths with offenders is to see the signs of strengths-based behavior even within illegal actions so that these behaviors can be applied
in a different way to enable the client to live and cope more productively. For instance, a 15-year-old African-American in legal trouble
for dealing "crack" was asked about the qualities needed for successful dealing. He mentioned that he had to be good with money, organized, disciplined about not using drugs (otherwise no profits), and
able to interact with a lot of different types of people. The worker
then emphasized these qualities in a positive light and led a discussion with a client of the ways in which these behaviors could be applied legally. For instance, his ability with money could be related to
math skills and exploring math- and accounting-related careers in
the future. Solid organizational skills could help him with his schoolwork and in applying for fast-food jobs in the area, and his social
skills could help him in job interviews, getting along with his family
and teachers, and in talking his way out of potential fights. This example relates to O'Hanlon and Weiner-Davis's (1989) suggestion that
the social worker asearch for the abilities and know-how needed to
solve the problem in other contexts in the client's life" (p. 91). For
juveniles, this may include aspects of their illegal behavior that can
be tapped as sources of strength and redirected toward legal behavior.
Other examples include graffiti "tagging" redirected into art work,
and technical ability formerly used in auto theft being applied toward
the mechanical trades.
For those cases in which clients absolutely resist all the worker's
attempts to be positive and strengths-based, it sometimes necessitates the clinician switching to a "pessimistic" frame. By taking this
stance, the client is then forced to assume a more positive frame in
order to convince the social worker that ". . . things really aren't so
bad" (O'Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989). For instance, a 15-year-old
said that while he was on probation he would mind the rules but after
that he would just go back to doing whatever he wanted, skipping
school, burglarizing houses, stealing cars, "smoking weed," etc. For a
while, the worker kept emphasizing his positive change with questions that asked him to take credit for his change. When he kept resisting these attempts, the clinician eventually adopted a pessimistic
outlook and said, "Well, maybe you're one of those people who need
outside people and things to control their behavior and you're not able

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to do it on your own." He immediately said, "It's not like that. I can


control myself." The social worker responded regretfully, "Maybe, but
I don't think so." The client then did his best to convince the social
worker that he could control his behavior without outside intervention and became engaged in taking credit for his change.
This example illustrates how clients are forced to shift their position when the clinician either accepts or exaggerates the position the
client insists upon. Paradoxical interventions empower clients by validating their fears about change, and allow them to operate out of
their own ambiguity and arguments as to why they should attempt to
do so.2 If the clinician argues for client change, the side of the client
that does not want to do so may be galvanized into a defensive stance.
If the worker shifts to a case against change, the client may then
demonstrate a desire and a capacity for change (Cade & O'Hanlon,
1993).
Goals Achieved Within a Brief Period
In the solution-focused model, emphasis is on well-formulated goals
that are achievable within a brief time frame. This is in contrast to
some long-term therapies which often target relatively fixed and stable characteristics of people, such as their personalities (O'Hanlon &
Weiner-Davis, 1989). However, change is more likely to be maximized
when specific, concrete behaviors are targeted rather than hypothetical entities (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993). For example, a youth who has
stolen cars is easier to impact than an "antisocial personality disorder;" a youth who talks back to teachers is easier to manage than a
"conduct disorder;" a youth who fails to finish school assignments is
easier to deal with than an "attention deficit disorder." Cade and
O'Hanlon (1993) advise that any diagnostic category be broken down
". . . into a pattern of discrete personal and interpersonal behaviors
that repeats under a particular set of circumstances such that elements in the pattern might more easily be acted upon" (p. 63).
2Although there may be contraindications against using paradoxical interventions
with depressed clients (it could exacerbate depression), juvenile offenders tend to present with conduct disorder much more often than depression and have externalizing
rather than internalizing problems. In addition, one of the main assumptions of the
solution-focused model is that the setting of goals is a collaborative process between
worker and client; juvenile offenders rarely present with depression as a problem they
want to work on. They are more frequently concerned with staying out of trouble, and
in the solution-focused model, this would be the focus of the work.

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Goal formulation is initiated from the beginning of the work with


the question regarding, "What does
need to see so that he/
she knows you don't have to see me anymore?" Clients usually respond with abstract and non-sensory-based language: "I've just got
to stay out of trouble." The task of the clinician is to encourage
and develop observable correlates of these states (Cade & O'Hanlon,
1993): "What will you be doing differently when you are staying out of
trouble?"
A useful technique for making concrete even the most abstract of
goals involves scaling questions (Berg, 1994; Berg & Miller, 1992).
With scaling questions, clients can rank order themselves on a scale
from one to ten a number which best represents their current efforts.
After they have done this, clients are induced to envision what they
would need to do to move up on the scale. Although solution-oriented
writers advise that scales should be constructed with a single goal for
clarity and simplicity, an overall goal such as the above example of
"staying out of trouble," has been used with beneficial results. In this
example, juvenile offending clients have been asked, "If '1' was the
day you were held at the juvenile lockup for the crime you committed
and '10' is that you are doing everything you know you are supposed
to be doing, where would you place yourself right now?" Clients were
further asked to indicate on the lower end of the scale three behaviors
they were engaging in at the time they were arrested and at the high
end, three behaviors they knew they should be doing, stated in positive rather than negative terms (i.e., "hanging around my girlfriend"
rather than "not hanging around criminals"). A 15-year-old Hispanic
male who was arrested for auto theft stated that his behaviors at "1"
involved auto theft, getting suspended from school, and "smoking
weed." His behaviors at "10" were being home by curfew, listening to
parents, and going to school. He ranked himself at a "5 ." When
asked what he could do to move up one number, he said he could come
in on time more often. He was then asked what was different about
the times he was able to come in on tune. He was quickly able to
respond that it was when he came straight home from school rather
than going someplace else first.
Further follow-up questions for scales involve asking clients how
other significant people in their lives might view their change efforts.
When these are contrasted against the client's own, the answers are
both revealing and potentially motivating. In the author's experience,
offending male juveniles tend to rank themselves higher than their

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probation officers, who in turn are ranked higher than their parents.
When asked about such discrepancies, clients have stated their realization of how much change has been involved since their "lock-up,"
and give themselves a lot of credit for these changes. Clients have
also recognized that the lower rankings from parents may be due to
their lack of willingness to follow household rules and help with
chores, whereas the relatively higher rankings by probation officers
were due to their concentration on the behaviors that got clients in
trouble with the law. An advantage of assessing clients' perceptions of
other people through the use of scaling questions is that they are
forced to address these discrepancies. Questions can then be asked
about actions the client needs to take so that rankings by probation
officers and parents can become more similar to his own.
Other advantages of scaling questions are that clients are given a
sense of control and responsibility. They can objectifiably see that
they are "navigating the direction" of change (Cade & O'Hanlon,
1993, p. 62). Scaling questions help them target goals for change,
with the rank ordering between the problem and the goal made quantifiable (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993), as well as progress on the goal in
further sessions. Even the most abstract aspects of the client's life,
such as mood, motivation, and "attitude" can thus be more easily concretized with the use of scaling questions.3
Goals must be agreed upon by both client and clinician as relevant
and achievable (Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993). For instance, getting "all
A's" might not be a workable goal for a client failing in school; however, passing grades might be more within a reasonable realm. In
addition, the solution-focused orientation holds the belief that there is
no single correct way to live (O'Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989). A common example in working with juvenile offenders is gang membership.
While the worker may not think it is in the client's best interest to
belong to a gang, it is left up to the client to decide how this should be
managed. Juvenile clients are often successfully able to come up with
strategies so that their gang involvement does not lead to further
criminal activity. For instance, clients say that since officially withdrawing could draw negative attention and reprobation from fellow
3Although scaling questions are described here with juvenile offenders who commonly present as the "visitor" type of client, scaling questions can also be applied to
complainants (usually parents in these cases). In complainant cases, scales can be conducted with parents on their perceptions of their children's progress and what they are
doing differently when their children are behaving.

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gang members, they just might be "lying low" and not hanging
around the gang as much.4
Another example of how the solution-oriented approach allows for
client self-determination involves the traditional therapeutic goal of
getting clients to "talk about their feelings." The solution-oriented clinician may recognize when working with a juvenile offending population that resolving disputes among peers with "I" statements and
other conflict resolution verbalizations may not be a goal for the
youth. "Walking away," a common strategy named by juvenile offenders, may be more effective. The overall focus of the solution-oriented approach is on taking action, rather than discussions about
feelings, which may particularly be suited to meet the needs of adolescent boys who have been in trouble with the law.
The focus on goals implies an orientation toward the future. This
focus is in contrast to other therapeutic modalities that concentrate
on the past in order for the client to make change in the present.
Juvenile offenders are often impatient with talking about the past
and often claim that although illegal behavior used to be a problem, it
is no longer. In other therapeutic models, the worker may be tempted
to challenge these kinds of statements and assume the client is avoiding or denying, etc. However, the solution-oriented clinician would reinforce the youth's decision to change and ask, "How will you continue
to make that happen?" indicating the belief that the client is indeed
already moving in that direction. If the client does not spontaneously
orient toward the future, the clinician will direct clients to the vision
of a better future to enable them to see a clear path to solving problems.
The narrative influence on solution-focused therapy is demonstrated with definitive rather than possibility phrasing. Definitive
phrasing indicates the clinician's confidence that goals will be met
(Cade & O'Hanlon, 1993). Examples of words conveying an expectancy for change are "will," "when," and "yet." The following examples
of questions applied to juvenile offenders illustrate the use of definitive phrasing: "What will be different in your life when you're staying
at home at night?" as opposed to "What would be different if you were
staying at home at night?" "Who will be the first to notice when you
4Since gang membership and illegal behavior may carry self-esteem value, keeping
out of trouble may not carry comparable value. However, this model presupposes that
the practitioner is working collaboratively with the juvenile offender on goals that are
important to him or her, which usually include "staying out of trouble" and "getting the
system off my back."

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are controlling your anger?" rather than "Who would be the first to
notice if you control your anger?" Narrative techniques can be harnessed as part of systematic future-oriented questioning that can help
clients develop skills to explore a more optimistic future.
Conclusion
This article has discussed applications of the solution-oriented model
to working with the juvenile offender population. The primary advantage of this approach with this population is that it makes possible
dealing with the typical juvenile's aversion to talking about "feelings,"
"the past," and other topics salient to traditional therapy. While most
people in the offender's life have focused on his negative behaviors,
aspects of himself which demonstrate positive and strengths-based
behaviors may have been overlooked. However, they do exist. The most
hardened gang member has been able to avoid physical confrontations.
A person who skips school almost inevitably attends school more days
than he skips. A teenager comes home more nights than he is out. He
is sometimes able to resist invitations that he join his friends in stealing cars. These "exceptions" can be targeted and strengthened by the
social worker, and a more positive future can be envisioned and then
acted upon by the young client to bring this future about.
The solution-oriented approach can be employed in a variety of social work settings involving the juvenile offender, such as casework,
probation, and treatment services. Although discussion in this article
revolved around individual work, techniques can readily be adopted
to family and group modalities. Social workers should find that
the solution-oriented approach fits many of social work's traditional
maxims, such as those involving client self-determination, starting
where the client is, and a focus on strengths and resources rather
than dysfunction and pathology. Future work in this area could also
concentrate on evaluating the effectiveness of this approach with the
juvenile offending population.
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Cade, B., & O'Hanlon, W.H. (1993). A brief guide to brief therapy. New York: W.W.
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