You Can’t Solve a Problem You Don’t Understand

Last week, I met someone who’d already seen four different professionals.

Each one had offered a different solution:
→ CBT
→ Breathwork
→ Coaching
→ “Their own method”

Each had their merits.
But not one had started with a proper understanding of the actual problem.

No shared formulation.
No joined-up story.
Just a technique thrown at the symptom.

It’s like being prescribed glasses before anyone checks your vision.

As a Clinical Psychologist, assessment and formulation come first.
Not just in therapy but in coaching, consulting, and high-performance work too.

Because without that shared understanding - of what’s really going on, beneath the surface - even the best tools can miss the mark.

Albert Einstein once said:

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem, and 5 minutes thinking about the solution.”

That’s how I work.

• What’s the actual issue?

• What’s driving it, sustaining it, fuelling it?

• What needs to shift - and in what order - for long-term change to be possible?

In my clinical work, I use the 5Ps model:

• Presenting problems

• Predisposing factors

• Precipitating triggers

• Perpetuating cycles

• Protective strengths

In business and performance settings, it’s the same principle:
→ Deep understanding
→ Honest reflection
→ A personalised roadmap that meets people where they actually are

Because the wrong strategy at the wrong time? Useless.
The right strategy at the wrong time? Still risky.
But the right strategy, at the right time, for the right person? That’s the key to change.

That’s my work.
Not a one-size-fits-all solution.
But a structured, flexible, and human-first way to understand complexity and then act on it.

If you’ve been trying to solve something - personally or professionally - and it’s not shifting…
Maybe it’s not about more effort.
Maybe it’s time to pause, step back, and get clearer on the problem first.

That’s where lasting change begins.

With clarity.

With understanding.

And with a strategy that actually fits.

Warmly,
Matt