Application of the problem-solving model: case guide

The instruction that shapes every slide is the capitalised **AND**: you use the problem-solving model *and* a theory. Those are not the same kind of thing and the assignment depends on you knowing it. The problem-solving model is a **blueprint** — D'Zurilla's steps of problem definition and formulation, generation of alternatives, decision making, and solution implementation and verification. A theoretical orientation is what explains *why* the client's problem takes the form it does and what will shift it. The model gives you the sequence; the theory fills each step with content. Seven of the nine required bullets end with a variant of *keep the theoretical orientation in mind*, which is the brief telling you the same thing seven times. Say on your second slide which theory you have chosen and why it suits this client, so the pairing is established before the steps begin.

That repetition is the grading criterion in disguise, so make the theory visible at every step rather than naming it once on slide two. Concretely: if you choose a cognitive-behavioural orientation, assessment of problem orientation looks at the client's appraisals and beliefs about the problem; if you choose systems or family theory, it looks at how the problem is defined and maintained within relationships; if you choose crisis theory, it looks at how the event has overwhelmed usual coping. The same is true at solution generation and implementation. A presentation where the theory could be swapped for any other without changing a single slide has not met the requirement the brief keeps restating. A quick self-test before submitting: cover the theory's name on every slide and ask whether a reader could still identify it from the content.

The second bullet asks how you would assess the client's **problem orientation** — how the client perceives the problem — and this is far more important than its position in the list suggests. Problem orientation is not a warm-up before the real work: component analyses of problem-solving therapy find that treatment is more effective when it includes training in a **positive problem orientation** rather than problem-solving skills alone, and when all four of D'Zurilla's core skills are covered. So a client who believes the problem is unsolvable or that they are incapable of solving it needs that addressed first, and you can say so on evidence rather than as an opinion. That single point will lift the assessment slides above description. It also gives the assessment slide something to recommend, rather than only something to report.

Two of the final bullets are evaluative and they are the ones most often turned into praise. *Evaluate how well the problem-solving model can be used for short-term treatment of this client* and *evaluate one merit and one limitation* both require a judgement with something on the other side. The evidence supports a genuinely balanced answer: problem-solving therapy performs comparably to other psychosocial therapies and to medication for depression and better than no treatment, and a meta-analysis in older adults found a significant reduction in depressive symptoms and in functional disability. But the youth literature is weaker — the trial at lowest risk of bias found improvements in solving personal problems without a significant effect on emotional symptoms. Match the evidence you cite to your client. Citing evidence from the wrong population without flagging it is the commonest way this evaluation goes wrong.

Finally, treat the format as a constraint on content rather than as packaging. Eleven to twelve slides for nine required content points leaves roughly one slide each plus a title and reference slide, so there is no room for a background section on the model's history or a biography of Helen Perlman. Put one bullet's answer on each slide, name the case (the Jake Levy case study you selected in Week 2) once and then work from it rather than re-describing it, and use the speaker notes for the reasoning that will not fit on the slide. Note also that the brief's own list of presentation guidelines is cut off in the source, so check your course page for the formatting requirements that should follow. Speaker notes are also where the marker looks for the reasoning that a bulleted slide cannot carry, so do not leave them empty.