Asking yourself one simple question could help save hundreds in therapy bills, a mental health coach has claimed.
In a popular TikTok clip, Olesya Luraschi, a leadership and high performance coach educated at Harvard, shared what psychologists call the ‘miracle question’.
She said it can help people change their attitude and behavior after just one therapy session, improving performance at work and boosting feelings of fulfilment.
The TikTok video, which has attracted more than 425,000 views, asks: ‘Suppose you woke up tomorrow and you were happy. What would be different?’
Asking this simple question can help clients ‘reverse-engineer’ the life they want to instead of getting bogged down in their current problems, by identifying clear steps they need to take to reach their goal life, she said.
Ms Luraschi shared the miracle question on TikTok, garnering over 425,000 views and 15,600 likes. Some users said the question was brilliant, others said it didn’t work for them.
Having people ask themselves the miracle question can help them make progress in therapy. Ms Luraschi said that it can get patients out of the therapy chair after one session.
Ms Luraschi runs a private practice where she focuses on coaching people in the tech industry, and shares psychology tips to her TikTok, where she has garnered over 128,000 followers and 1.8million likes.
Some commenters were not impressed with her suggestion.
‘Most people have no idea what would make them happy,’ user5636243237705 said.
Neillien wrote, ‘If I woke up tomorrow and was happy I would be retired. Can I afford to retire? Never. How does this help?’
Others yet found it helpful. Ann_marie52353 wrote, ‘Well, contrary to popular opinion in the comments I think it’s brilliant’.
Psychologists have been using this approach since at least 1998, according to Lake Superior State University psychologist Russell Searight.
It comes from psychologists who practice solution-focused therapy, a technique created in the 1980’s which prompts clients to focus the predicaments in their daily life as opposed to analyzing the past.
It’s particularly useful in helping people overcome depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, according to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
The miracle question is best applied to people who are goal oriented and driven by future prospects, Kristen Gingrich, a licensed clinical social worker based in Maine, shared in her own TikTok.
In the original version of the question, psychologists asked patients to imagine that a ‘miracle’ had occurred overnight, wherein they woke up happy.
This is where the term ‘miracle question’ comes from.
Asking this question might make the client and doctor more likely to form a ‘firm alliance’, which could help the client become more comfortable and benefit more from the therapy, according Professor Searight.
This helps the therapist better understand what the client wants out of therapy, Ms Gingrich said. This way, they can better coach the client towards their ideal life.
She uses it when a client is feeling stuck. This can help them get over plateaus in progress. ‘Instead of focusing on everything that has gone wrong, they’re able to kind of focus on the things and the progresses that they could make.’
However, not everyone benefits from the miracle question, Dan Lawson, a psychotherapist said. Sometimes, therapists need to adapt the wording of the question in order to make it more applicable to their unique situation.
‘If it’s not personal to them, then it may necessarily not work,’ Dr Lawson said.
He added: ‘so don’t fault your client, listen to your client, and don’t let your past mess with your future.’
Source: Mail Online
