[Externalizing the problem--a method in psychiatric treatment]

Michael White is an Australian family therapist. He has developed a therapeutical method which he calls "externalizing the problem". According to this method, the patient's problem is given a linguistic designation, for example "the tyrant of anguish", "the tempter of drugs", "the black voice", and is kept outside the dominant identity of the patient. The patient, in time also the family, is invited to a dialogue on the effect of this problem and how to develop strategies to beat "the problem tyrant". The authors have based their work on the thoughts and methods of Michael White. They have used these methods to address a wide range of psychiatric problems. The paper describes the theory behind the methods, and presents a number of clinical examples where they have been used.