Structured Problem solving skills part 1

Building and Sustaining Meaningful and Effective Relationships as a Supervisor and Mentor Chapter 7 Part 1

“The supervisor plays a critical role in helping the supervisee overcome any avoidance contingencies that may be preventing them from noticing or reporting problems.”

Approach - Teach trainees to identify potential problems and bring them up with the supervisor. “Look for smoke.”

Reinforce - Strengthen reports of problems and shape discrimination skills over time. “Thank you for bringing this up with me.”

Model - Describe your structured problem-solving steps as you work through a variety of problems (e.g., clinical, staff performance, ethical).

Five Steps to Solving a Problem

1. Detect an emerging problem and describe indicators that alerted you to the problem. 
2. Define the problem in terms of the functional determinants (i.e., relevant antecedents and consequences).
3. Generate many possible solutions (i.e., brainstorm).
4. Evaluate the pros and cons of multiple options and select a solution.
5. Implement the solution and evaluate the outcomes.