Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Themes• Each person is unique so are their symptoms, problems, and solutions• Clients are experts on their own lives because they actively participate in

constructing the realities of their lives• Solutions are not necessarily related to problems• Maintain a future orientation (When … rather than if…)

– The past cannot be changed

• Focus on strengths: Everyone has strengths and resources required to resolve difficulties

Themes• Change is inevitable• Once changes are set in motion, they tend to snowball and generalize to

other parts of life• Nothing is all negative• There is no such thing as resistance• Simplicity is key

Themes

Problem Focused• How can I help you?

• Could you tell me about the problem?• Is the problem a symptom of something

deeper?• Can you tell me more about the problem?• How are we to understand the problem in light

of the past?• What defense mechanisms are operating?

• In which ways is the relationship between the therapist and the client a replay of past relationships(psychodynamic models)?

• How many sessions will be needed?

Solution Focused• How will you know when therapy has been

helpful?• What would you like to change?• Have we clarified the central issue on which you

want to concentrate?• Can we discover exceptions to the problem?• What will the future look like without the

problem?• How can we use the skills and qualities of the

client?• How can the therapist collaborate with the

client?

• Have we achieved enough to end?

Process

• Counseling relationship– Collaborative– Client decides which solution works best for him/her– Therapist is responsible for guiding the relationship in a

direction that will serve the client– Client empowerment

• What brought you here today?• How can I help you?

Process• What are the exceptions to the problem?• Miracle Question

– If a miracle were to happen, what would be different?• Presuppositional Questions (Solution-focused language)

– When … instead of if….• Scaling Questions• Coping Questions• Genuine compliments • Tasks

Process

• Goals– Belong to the client and should be expressed in their words– Attainable (small, baby steps)– Concrete, specific, and tied to specific behaviors– Defined in terms of the presence of some behavior not the absence of– Focus on beginnings more than endings– Realistic in the context of the clients life– Acknowledged to involve hard work