This classic book, available in paperback for the very first time, explores why some people can successfully change their lives and others cannot. Here famed psychologist Paul Watzlawick presents what is still often perceived as a radical idea: that the solutions to our problems are inherently embedded in the problems themselves.

Tackling the age-old questions surrounding persistence and change, the book asks why problems arise and are perpetuated in some instances but easily resolved in others. Incorporating ideas about human communication, marital and family therapy, the therapeutic effects of paradoxes and of action-oriented techniques of problem resolution, Change draws much from the field of psychotherapy.

Depression is one of the most common issues that people bring to therapy. It is also a mental health condition with several well-known and readily available medications to treat it. That said, every clinician knows that medications do not work for all clients, and even if they do work they can often come with unwelcome side effects that are difficult and hard to bear. In short, medications are not foolproof.

Fortunately today, with rising interest in non-drug approaches, effective and easy-to-implement alternative strategies exist for dealing with depression in your clients, either in conjunction with medication treatments or on their own. Six of the best are presented in this book.

With his characteristic mix of insightful clinical anecdote and personal narrative, seasoned therapist Bill O Hanlon lays out six of his go-to non-medication strategies for clinicians to use with their own depressed clients. These include marbling (training people to intersperse happy memories with sad ones so that over time they move away from a feeling of such negativity); challenging isolation in clients (helping them to see the benefits of the social world); and understanding neuroplasticity and how it can be used to your clients advantage.

Bill O Hanlon writes from a place of experience. As a youth, he was so severely depressed that he contemplated suicide. His successful rise from that dark place, some 30 years ago, can be seen as the starting point for this book. Many of the strategies he used to overcome his own illness he now puts forward here, with compassion and wisdom, so that other clinicians may benefit.

Every depressed person experiences his or her own variety of the illness, and as therapists we need to help our clients discover their own paths to healing. Armed with the compelling, non-drug strategies in this book, clinicians will be able to do just that, opening up a new route to health and wellness. Whether you routinely prescribe psychotropic drugs or would never think of doing so, this book may offer just the advice you need to advance your therapy work and make a real difference in your depressed clients lives."

How can psychotherapists apply the wealth of recent research in Positive Psychology to their clinical work to help their clients change in positive directions? Bill O'Hanlon, who originated Solution-Oriented Therapy in the early 1980s, and Bob Bertolino, an experienced clinician, build the bridge between positive psychology and psychotherapy in this book that allows readers to focus on the mental, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual health of their clients. Following the highly readable and user-friendly approach of the Therapist Notebooks, this book contains 75 activities, exercises, and handouts throughout seven chapters that therapists can implement both in sessions and as activities outside the therapeutic milieu. Among the many attractive features included are: exercises that follow a standard format for ease of use and implementation research findings that underscore the importance of focusing on strengths and well-being overviews and suggestions for use that flank each exercise and contextualize them. Readers appreciate the breadth of research and literature covered, the interactive exercises that both clients and clinicians can use, and devices presented to help translate research into practice, such as the P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. Framework and The Happiness Hypothesis. For mental health practitioners who are interested in building resilience and strength, both within their clients and within themselves, this book is indispensable.

Although a growing number of Americans are turning to spirituality to help explain and supplement their lives, and a vast majority identify as religious, psychotherapy has long been reluctant to work alongside clients' sense of "something bigger". But what kind of resources might a spiritual sensibility offer from a mental health standpoint? How can therapists helpfully and respectfully integrate spiritual feelings into their work with clients? Bestselling author Bill O'Hanlon tackles these questions and others in this pioneering foray into the uses and pitfalls of spiritualities-both secular and religious-in a therapeutic setting. Here, spirituality is defined by its three integral components: a feeling of connection to something beyond oneself, a capacity for compassion or "feeling with", and a sense of responsibility to make a contribution to others and to the world.

How can psychotherapists apply the wealth of recent research in Positive Psychology to their clinical work to help their clients change in positive directions?

Bill O Hanlon, who originated Solution-Oriented Therapy in the early 1980s, and Bob Bertolino, an experienced clinician, build the bridge between positive psychology and psychotherapy in this book that allows readers to focus on the mental, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual health of their clients. Following the highly readable and user-friendly approach of the Therapist Notebooks, this book contains 75 activities, exercises, and handouts throughout seven chapters that therapists can implement both in sessions and as activities outside the therapeutic milieu.

Among the many attractive features included are:

• exercises that follow a standard format for ease of use and implementation
• research findings that underscore the importance of focusing on strengths and well-being
• overviews and suggestions for use that flank each exercise and contextualize them.

Readers appreciate the breadth of research and literature covered, the interactive exercises that both clients and clinicians can use, and devices presented to help translate research into practice, such as the P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. Framework and The Happiness Hypothesis. For mental health practitioners who are interested in building resilience and strength, both within their clients and within themselves, this book is indispensable.

For many years, mental health professionals have attended the seminars of Bill O'Hanlon. The author and co-author of over a dozen books has captivated audiences with his informative, humorous, and interactive teaching style. An Invitation to Possibility Land takes participants a step further. In the context of a week-long training limited to 10 participants, O'Hanlon moves to a new level of experience that cannot be duplicated in his large workshops. The author shares riveting stories, metaphors, interchanges with participants, transcripts of therapy sessions during the week, and many more teaching points that allow this book to read like a novel. The book explores many current issues facing therapists in today's climate such as how to make therapy briefer and how to work with abuse victims. It offers the reader a chance to experience, along with the participants, an in depth training where subjects such as hypnosis, brief, Ericksonian, solution-oriented, and narrative therapies, and the use of language, are explored. Welcome to Possibility-Land.

"If you do one thing different, read this book! It is filled with practical, creative, effective, down-to-earth solutions to life's challenging problems."-Michele Weiner-Davis, author of Divorce Busting The 20th anniversary edition of a self-help classic, updated with a new preface: Tapping into widespread popular interest in highly effective, short-term therapeutic approaches to personal problems, author Bill O'Hanlon offers 10 Solution Keys to help you free yourself from "analysis paralysis" and quickly get unstuck from aggravating problems. Tired of feeling stuck all the time when you're trying to solve a problem or are facing conflict? Do you get easily flustered or angry when a negative confrontation arises? Have you ever wished you could communicate more easily with your spouse, kids, colleagues, or anyone else you have a difference in opinion with? In this newly updated edition of Do One Thing Different, Bill O'Hanlon will arm you with his ten easy Solution Keys so that you can move quickly from "stuck" to "smooth sailing" in all aspects of your life. Humorous, direct, and-most important of all-effective, these keys will help you change how you view and "do" your problems-from difficult relationships to enhancing sexuality and resolving conflicts of all kinds. The next time you have a problem, try one of these Solution Keys: Break Problem Patterns: Change any one of what you usually do in the problem situation by doing one thing different! Example: If you usually get angry and defensive, sit quietly and listen. Find and Use Solution Patterns: Import solutions from other situations where you felt competent. Examples: What do you know on the golf course that you forget when you get behind the wheel of your car? What do you say to resolve a problem with an angry customer that you don't say to your angry partner? Shift Your Attention: Focus on what you would like to have happen rather than on what is happening. Grounded in therapeutic practice, Do One Thing Different will put you back in control of your emotions and your life.

Stop Problem Behavior in Its Tracks
"Try and Make Me!
"The authors' well-integrated program helps frustrated parents avoid futile battles and take loving but firm charge of their difficult children. I will recommend this book to the parents of my own defiant young patients."--Barbara D. Ingersoll, Ph.D., author of "Your Hyperactive Child and "Attention Deficit Disorders and Learning Disabilities
No more bargaining over TV time! * No more whining from the back seat! * And no more feeling guilty when your problem child misbehaves!
In this book, esteemed child therapists Ray Levy, Ph.D., and Bill O'Hanlon, M.S., offer a revolutionary approach to parenting that's guaranteed to reverse your difficult child's behavior-- now. You'll receive advice on...
* How you unwittingly may be triggering your child's defiance
* The keys to turning off back talk
* Using consequences to motivate your child to change
* How to use the authors' special Academies technique to teach good behavior...and much more!
"Written in a conversational style, this book is replete with useful methods that parents can employ with difficult or defiant children. This is a truly helpful manual for parents seeking time-tested strategies for improving their relationships with their children."--Russell A. Barkley, professor of psychiatry and neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the author of "Your Defiant Child: 8 Steps to Better Behavior
"In a very clear, compassionate, sensible, and humorous way, "Try and Make Me! outlines realistic guidelines and strategies for helping defiant youngsters become more cooperative and less oppositional. I recommend this book highly notonly for parents of defiant children but for teachers and mental health professionals who work with these youngsters and their families. It is an invaluable resource."--Robert Brooks, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School and author of "The Self-Esteem Teacher

In this practical, witty, and no-nonsense book, Bill O Hanlon provides all the essential information for readers interested in writing their own books. He discusses all the big issues: writer s block; getting an idea; how to keep motivated; developing a platform; how to think about self-publishing; how to find a traditional publisher and what to do once you have one. Best of all, every piece of information in the book is written with the psychotherapy writer in mind.

O Hanlon helps readers learn how to leverage their own strengths as mental health professionals, providing worksheets and advice about finding a topic and making it your own. He gives suggestions about how to use your own clinical skills to stay on target for writing deadlines, and he cuts through the excessive information about social media to explain exactly what is relevant to your writing project.

Any therapist who has given more than a passing thought to writing a book owes it to themselves to pick up this one."

When was the last time you read a book to improve your professional skills and had fun at the same time? For people interested in the latest developments in brief, solution-oriented therapies, and for any who want to improve their therapeutic skills without unnecessary toil, A Guide to Possibility Land is a terrific introduction to the territory. Possibility therapy, originated by Bill O Hanlon, is about acknowledging and validating clients felt experience and ideas about their lives while ensuring that possibilities for change are discovered and amplified. A Guide to Possibility Land outlines this humorous, compassionate approach to action-oriented therapy in a lively and accessible text. Each method is defined, explained, and illustrated, all in a page or two. By the book s end the reader is empowered with a huge selection of strategies and an enlightening map of possibility land."

Here, Bill O'Hanlon uses his characteristic breezy and inviting style to tackle a very difficult issue: trauma resolution. This book details a philosophy and methods of working briefly and effectively with traumatized clients. Simple examples and dialogue, whimsical illustrations, and O'Hanlon's classic reader-oriented approach make this book inviting to therapists and consumers alike.

"With brief therapy finally getting deserved interest, the time is ripe for an overview. Cade and O'Hanlon state that they 'decided to collaborate on a book that would summarize the main elements, the ideas, principles, attitudes, and techniques associated with brief therapy.' Read this work--you'll be glad they did, and you did." --John H. Weakland

Recognized leaders in the solution-oriented movement, O Hanlon and Weiner-Davis provide guidelines for clinicians in implementing solution-oriented language and explain how to avoid dead ends. Now available in paperback, including new material to bring the reader up-to-date on advances in this growing field."

Popular author Bill O Hanlon offers an inviting and reassuring guide to the essentials of hypnosis, alleviating the newcomer s anxieties about how to make the most of this clinical tool. This brief book illustrates the benefits of solution-oriented hypnosis, which draws on the work of the pioneering therapist Milton Erickson (with whom O Hanlon studied) and emphasizes doing what is needed to get results which, more often than not, means trusting that the client holds within him- or herself answers or knowledge that need only be tapped or released by the therapist. O Hanlon covers the key aspects of hypnosis, including: using possibility words and phrases; using passive language; and inducing trance. O Hanlon offers practical tips and friendly encouragement for the novice hypnotherapist in his characteristic warm, reassuring, and humorous style."

A short breezy book about how to attain success, even if you are lazy, flaky, disorganized or perfectionistic. By featured Oprah guest Bill O'Hanlon, who has managed to write and published 30+ books, despite being the lazy man of the title.

When most people think of "hypnosis" they imagine either a sinister, Mesmeresque figure declaring to his subject "you're getting sleepier and sleepier ... your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, you vill go into trance," or an entertainer compelling a subject to "cluck like a chicken." In this comprehensive introduction to hypnosis based on the pioneering work of Milton H. Erickson, Bill O'Hanlon demystifies the concept of "trance" and "hypnosis." He goes to the heart of the subject by answering the question: "What is trance?" But be forewarned: This is no dry, formal discourse on trance induction techniques. Rather, readers are invited to share the experience of attending one of O'Hanlon's lively and popular two-day workshops on Ericksonian hypnosis. In an energetic and often humorous manner, O'Hanlon takes his audience through the basics of trance induction and explains the how, what, and why of hypnosis. Readers familiar with Erickson's work will be delighted at the author's Class of Problems/Class of Solutions approach, which deconstructs Ericksonian interventions and provides a powerful new tool in directing clients toward solution. Each individual element of trance induction is explained clearly, through the use of case examples, demonstrations, and audience participation exercises. The book's gradual approach takes readers through the hypnotic process in a step-by-step fashion, increasing their skills and confidence.

Contents:
Chapter 1: Welcome to Possibility Land. Introduction. Opening Doors. Mission Statement. Group Member Introductions. Observational and Conversational Items. Chapter 2: Language is a Virus. Creating an Awareness of Language. Implications of Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Modernism. Attending to Metaphors. The Collaborative Approach. Escaping Dogma. Chapter 3: Cindy. Individual Therapy Involving Hypnosis. Group Observations, Reflections and Feedback. Talking Hypnosis. Chapter 4: Evolving Conversation. What's Coming Across? Stories, Myths, and Fairytales. New Roads of Possibility. Chapter 5: Trancepersonally. Inner work. Practicing Hypnosis. Continuing Conversations. Valuing Internal Experience. Chapter 6: Jill and Eric. Therapy with a Couple. Group Observations, Reflections, and Feedback. Continuing Conversations. Chapter 7: Pathways with Possibilities. What's Coming Across? What Do You Call It? Acknowledgement and Possibility. Chapter 8: Lynn. Individual Therapy without Hypnosis.

Here is a fresh, new approach to relationships. It goes beyond analyzing relationships to changing them, even if one partner isn't interested. Using a solution-oriented approach, the authors show readers how to: break free of old patterns in days or weeks, not months or years quickly and easily solve relationship problems improve their sex life increase feelings of love and closeness get over past hurts.

Since making the shift from analyzing the past to plotting the future is not easy, Bill O'Hanlon and Pat Hudson summarize key points and action steps for each change. They share the stories of their friends and therapy clients who have stopped blaming and started loving, inspiring their readers to be creative as they transform today's dreams of more romance and happiness into tomorrow's reality.

Drawing on thirty years of clinical experience, Bill O’Hanlon—one of psychotherapy’s most innovative practitioners and teachers—examines this simple yet often elusive aspect of successful therapy: change. With his characteristic wit and style, O’Hanlon presents the key concepts and most powerful methods for achieving personal transformation. Readers are provided with the perspective and inspiration necessary to embrace the risk and reward of change.

In this book, Bill O’Hanlon, a co-developer of solution-oriented therapy, and Bob Bertolino, provide clinicians with forward-looking, respectful therapy that taps into and honors people’s inherent learning abilities. Their treatment model is a major departure from most addressing sexual abuse victims: it is less traumatic, less painful, and less disruptive to people’s lives.

Even if you've discovered from the talk shows and the self-help books that you're afraid of intimacy or prone to self-destruction because of a miserable childhood, has it really helped? If not, it's time for action; it's time for Love Is a Verb. Here is a fresh, new approach to relationships. The book goes beyond analyzing relationships to changing them, even if one partner isn't interested. Using a solution-oriented approach, humor, stories, and good common sense, Bill O'Hanlon and Pat Hudson (marriage counselors and husband and wife) show readers how to: break free of old patterns in days and weeks, not months or years quickly and easily solve relationship problems improve their sex life increase feelings of love and closeness get over past hurts

Lively, upbeat, and future-focused, Love Is a Verb shows readers how to change today's dreams of more romance and happiness into tomorrow's reality.

This book is one of the first guides to applying solution-oriented approaches to mental illnesses such as severe depression, schizophrenia, and multiple personality disorder. Clinicians will learn techniques that can be incorporated into their practices in order to promote health, confidence, and a sense of possibility in their patients.