An Empirical Study on the 2nd Step of the Revised Three Steps Model: Focusing on Clients' Psychological States and the Scaling of Problem/Adaptation

Abstract

　This study focuses on the 2nd step of the Revised Three Steps Model, aiming to: (a) explore criterion values for natural recovery, and (b) clarify the impact of scaling targets and clients' psychological states on scaling. An internet survey was conducted with 365 individuals (average age 47.37, SD=10.62) seeking counseling. In this survey, scaling was used where 10 represented the period when the problem was most severe, and 0 indicated no problem. The findings revealed that the average response for the 2nd step’s scaling tended to be between 6 and 7. Moreover, over 85% of the respondents experienced some degree of natural recovery. The results also indicated that in scaling, adaptation generally received lower scores compared to problem severity, with interpersonal issues often being rated higher. These outcomes suggest that scaling is a useful tool for therapists to share the progress of natural recovery with clients, and highlight the potentially greater importance of the third step in addressing interpersonal problems.