Problem: Write a reply to this post. It has been my experience that often parents bring their children to therapy with the hopes that the child's behavior can be fixed. It often surprises parents to learn that, for a change in their child's behavior to happen, the parents also need to make important changes. Sori et al. (2006) explain that when parents want their children to make all the changes, or when teenagers want their parents to do all the changing, inviting all family members to focus on something small they can change themselves is a good place to start. One technique used in Solution-Focused Therapy that can help shift the perspective from the child as the problem is externalizing the problem (Solution-Focused Strengths-Based Practice, 2015). As the therapist helps the family to externalize the problem, it becomes something that the family can work together to solve, rather than simply trying to fix the adolescent. Externalizing the problem means talking about it as something that resides outside each family member, rather than as part of any family member's identity. Another important aspect that can help remove the adolescent as the 'problem in the family' is to help families understand the developmental process that adolescents are experiencing. This includes normalizing the child's increased desire for autonomy while also recognizing adolescents' ongoing need to be nurtured and to feel secure in their relationships with their parents (Micucci, 2009). Need Assignment Help?