In brief counseling, clients are challenged to...

• A. Examine their problems in depth.
• B. None of the above.
• C. Use their resources.
• D. Change their family systems.

Answer: (C)

Brief counseling focuses on quickly helping clients mobilize what they already have—their strengths, skills, supports, and coping strategies—to address their concerns. This resource-oriented approach aims to empower the client to generate practical, doable steps right away, rather than spending extensive time analyzing causes or restructuring someone else’s environment. That’s why the best choice is using their resources: it captures the central aim of brief counseling to leverage what the client can already draw on to move forward.

In practice, you’ll see this in action when therapists ask about times the client solved a similar problem, who can provide support, what has worked before, and small steps the client can take now. The other options describe approaches more typical of long, in-depth exploration or systemic/family-focused therapy, which aren’t the primary focus of brief counseling.