Reading D

Outlined below are a list of questions that can be useful to explore a client’s strengths and resources. This list is not exhaustive, but it provides a range of examples that may be appropriate as a part of a strengths based conversation.

Some of these questions specifically explore client’s strengths, while other questions will help you to understand the person’s life experience, values, motivations, interests and preferences. The answers to these questions will support you to identify meaningful goals and create a care plan that is personalised, relevant, achievable and builds on the person’s strengths.

An assessment should not include all of these questions, nor should it avoid discussion of the challenges a client is experiencing. Staff should use their professional judgement to identify questions that are relevant and appropriate for each client.

It’s important for service providers to remember that your work builds on the holistic screening and assessment that the client has undertaken with the My Aged Care Contact Centre and Assessment staff (including Regional Assessment Services and/or Aged Care Assessment Teams). You should always review the information that has already been collected to avoid the client having to re-tell their story. The way that you apply the following strategies within your work will therefore vary, depending on the context and focus of your conversation.

Exploring the Current Situation

• What are you doing / managing well?
• What are you currently doing independently?
• What are you feeling good about?
• What’s working well for you at the moment?
• What does a good day look like for you? What makes it a good day?

Skills, Personal Qualities / Attributes, Knowledge

• Tell me about something you are really proud of.
• What do you like about yourself?
• What do you think you do really well?
• What is something that your friends and family would say you’re great at?
• What would the people closest to you describe as your superpower?

Exploring Interests, Hobbies

• What do you enjoy?
• What are your interests?
• How do you like to spend your time?

Support Network, Community Connections

• Who’s important to you?
• What connections do you have in your community? (e.g. family, friends, groups, services)
• What role do you play in the lives of the people you care about?
• Who supports you in your day to day life? In what way?
• Who can you count on?

Resources (e.g. physical, financial)

• What resources do you have around you to make this easier?
• Do you have any equipment, aids or tools that are helpful for you?
• Is there anything in your environment that you do/can use?

Understand Challenges in Context

• Are there times when ‘the problem’ isn’t happening or ‘positive behaviour’ does happen? What happens on those days? What does that look like?
• How have you managed ‘the problem’ until now?

Exploring Values and Motivation

• What’s important to you?
• What are the things in your life that you really value?
• What would you like to get out of our work together?

Exploring Opportunities / Strategies

• What’s worked for you in the past / what have you tried? (e.g. strategies / tools / resources / supports / skills)
• What strategies have you put in place?
• How have you adapted?
• What have you learned so far that could be helpful moving forward?
• How can we build on where you are now?
• What’s one thing that you could do to take a step in the right direction?