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Satoshi Sasaki, Heian Jogakuin (St. Agnes') University, JapanAbstract
“Problem externalization,” proposed by White and Epston (1990) as a narrative therapy technique, aims to dissociate the problem from the individual, focusing on addressing the issue. In Japan, the “bug extermination” technique (Higashi, 1997), which applies problem externalization, is recognized as a method within the systems approach. This study investigates the effects of problem externalization through a case in which a school counselor employed the “bug extermination” technique to assist a student troubled by the complaint of “small things bothering me.” The IP (Identified Patient) was a male high school sophomore. Over six months, ten counseling sessions were conducted in the school. The effectiveness of the counseling was primarily validated through the IP's self-reported adjustment to school life. When the counselor externalized the issue, the IP labeled the problem a “pest.” This naming allowed for a more concrete examination of his concerns, which had previously been approached more abstractly during counseling. Additionally, the IP's desire to “eliminate his worries” revealed an underlying obsessive-compulsive tendency, helping him understand how he had been self-tormenting. Problem externalization not only enabled the IP to detach himself from the problem, perceiving it as an entity to be managed but also facilitated a virtual visualization of the issue, clarifying the context in which the school counselor and the IP worked collaboratively to address it. The externalization also occurred within the school counselor, and this triadic relationship—among the IP, the counselor, and the externalized problem—facilitated the formation of a collaborative therapeutic alliance.
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Conference: ACEID2025Stream: Counselling
This paper is part of the ACEID2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Sasaki S. (2025) Impact of Problem Externalisation on Counselor-IP Collaboration: A Case Study of Bug Extermination in School Counseling ISSN: 2189-101X – The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2025 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 279-285) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2025.23
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-101X.2025.23
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