Problem Solving

Much of life involves solving problems. From major decision making (e.g., purchasing a new car, choosing an academic major), to responding to daily hassles (e.g., having a flat tire) and stressful life events (e.g., unemployment, divorce, or death of significant others), how people solve various life problems has been an important subject of research and practice for mental health professionals. Formally defined, problem solving is a goal-directed process that includes identifying the problem, generating solutions, selecting the best solution(s) and implementing it (them), and evaluating the outcome(s).

[Page 408]Historically, the scholarly effort to define the problem-solving process with life problems finds its roots in the work of D'Zurilla and Goldfried (1971). They proposed a five-stage model of the problem-solving process:

• 1.
  General Orientation Stage: Individuals recognize and approach a problem with a certain cognitive and motivational frame of mind.
• 2.
  Problem Definition and Formulation Stage: Individuals define the problem in specific terms and identify specific goals to solve the problem.
• 3.
  Generation of Alternatives Stage: Individuals produce a list of appropriate and possible solutions.
• 4.
  Decision-Making Stage: Individuals evaluate a variety of possible solutions based on expected consequences.
• 5.
  Selection of the Best Solutions, Solution Implementation, and Verification Stage: Individuals select the best solution, implement it, and evaluate the actual outcomes of the selected solution.

Even though these five components were identified more than 30 years ago, scholars still hold to their validity for describing the problem-solving process, with only a few minor modifications.

Current research and practice pertaining to problem solving owe a great debt to D'Zurilla and Goldfried's (1971) problem-solving process model. For example, a great deal of research has centered on the construct of problem-solving appraisal (i.e., an individual's perceived ability, style, behavior, and attitude in solving the problem) as measured by the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) (Heppner, 1988). More than 120 studies over a 20-year period between 1982 and 2002 have investigated the link between the level of effectiveness in problem-solving appraisal and various outcome variables, including psychological distress. The research has consistently suggested that effective problem solvers show better psychological, physical, and educational adjustment.

The problem-solving process model has had a direct influence on professional practice in psychology through the development of problem-solving training and problem-solving consultation. Problem-solving consultation (PSC) is an indirect form of service delivery where school psychologists work with teachers or parents who have students with academic, behavioral, social, and/or emotional problems. Although PSC does not involve direct problem-solving training with individual consultees (i.e., teachers and parents), the consultation components and process make direct use of the problem-solving framework, such as problem identification, problem analysis, treatment design and implementation, and treatment evaluation. Behavioral consultation, one of the more popular subtypes of PSC, underscores the importance of:

• Conducting collaborative consultations between a school psychologist and consultee(s)
• Setting the primary goal to be behavioral change of the client (usually the child)
• Conducting multiple interviews corresponding to the problem-solving process

The effectiveness of PSC across a variety of academic and behavioral problems is well documented. For example, Galloway and Sheridan (1994) found that PSC was effective in helping teachers and parents with underachieving students and with children diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Knoff and colleagues (1995) through investigating teachers' perception of effective school psychology consultation, suggest that PSC, particularly behavioral consultation, is a preferred and important service in school psychology; and PSC tends to improve teachers' self-efficacy regarding their skills and ability to define problems and instruct the problematic child.

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