Partners for Collaborative Solutions
Meaningful Coincidences, Epiphanies, Good Luck Events, Serendipitous Practices and Contexts: A Client Treasure Trove of Resources Worth Tapping
The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was the first pioneer to write about and study clients’ meaningful coincidences. While closely listening to his clients’ share their stories about their meaningful coincidences, he discovered that they gained some valuable insight about themselves and their life situations, which can be put to practical use for self-empowerment and change. More recently, client extra-therapeutic factors, such as important client random events have been identified as part of the 40% of what counts for positive treatment outcomes (Duncan, Miller, Wampold, & Hubble, 2010; Hubble, Duncan, Miller, 1999). Surprisingly, therapists rarely or never think about inquiring with their clients about their random good luck events, meaningful coincidences, epiphanies, and serendipitous practices and contexts. I will briefly comment on these two classes of important client extra-therapeutic factors: positive random events and planned serendipity.
Positive random events are experiences that occur by surprise and spark for the client valuable insight and wisdom about their situations, a good luck event that benefits the client in a positive way, or reading, seeing something on TV or in a movie, or hearing something from a family member, relative, friend, an inspirational other, or acquaintance that is transformative for the client. As another form of solution talk, it is quite beneficial to explore with clients in first and subsequent sessions the specific details of their meaningful coincidences, epiphanies, and good luck events, and how they have put their insights into action in all areas of their lives. Next, we want to amplify and consolidate their new ways of viewing and doing that are making the biggest difference in their lives. We also may learn about key resource people from our clients’ social networks to incorporate in the treatment process for co-generating solutions and to help our clients stay on track outside of our offices.
Planned serendipity takes two different forms: serendipitous practices and serendipitous contexts. Serendipitous practices are positive virtuous habits that our clients are regularly engaging in that seem to bring them good luck and aid them in solution finding for a wide range of predicaments. For example, a parent who regularly leafs through and reads entire parenting self-help books and consistently discovers important strategies that work. Serendipitous contexts are healthy places our clients mingle in where they tend to meet interesting and insightful people that offer them valuable advice, information, and wisdom that benefits them in a positive way. Again, we want to find out from the clients details about what they gained from these experiences and how they have put it to positive use. For specific examples of useful questions to ask clients about their meaningful coincidences, good luck events, epiphanies, and planned serendipity, see (Selekman & Beyebach, 2013).