Chapter One
SOCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING: BASIC
CONCEPTS, RESEARCH, AND APPLICATIONS
JAMES MCGUIRE
University of Liverpool, UK
INTRODUCTION
The phrase "problem solving" has several levels of meaning in mental health and
related fields. There is, first, a general sense in which it can be used metaphorically
to describe any planned therapeutic effort. Given its function of alleviating
distress, therapy by its very nature can be envisioned as helping to solve a
problem. There is also a second, more focused, use of the term which arises in
psychotherapy and counselling process research, in which problem solving is
used to specify certain actions by counsellors or therapists during clinical sessions.
The sense in which it will be used in the present book is distinct from both of
the foregoing definitions. In what follows, we will be considering a ... read full excerpt from Social Problem Solving and Offending: Evidence, Evaluation and Evolution ebook
