CHAPTER 10

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY

 INTRODUCTION

• EMERGED RELATIVELY RECENTLY

• IS BRIEF THERAPY SO FITS NICELY WITH MANAGED CARE
• USED IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS
• CAN SEE INFLUENCE OF A NUMBER OF OTHER THEORIES: STRENGTHS
PERSPECTIVE, TASK-CENTERED
• FOCUS IS ON SOLUTIONS
 THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS

• MID-1980S, STEVE DE SHAZER, INSOO KIM BERG

• IS POSTMODERN
• EACH PERSON IS UNIQUE
• EACH PERSON POSSESSES DIFFERENT STRENGTHS THAT CAN BE UTILIZED TO AMELIORATE DISTRESS
• STRENGTHS ARE FREQUENTLY UNCOVERED WHEN LOOKING FOR EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROBLEM
• CLIENTS GAUGE THE INTENSITY, DURATION, FREQUENCY, AND SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM
• APPROACH IS COLLABORATIVE SO THAT WORKER IS NOT IN A HIGHER POSITION THAN THE CLIENT
• CLIENT’S EXPERIENCE IS NORMALIZED BECAUSE FOCUS IS CONTEXTUALIZED
• THE PROCESS REMAINS FUTURE-ORIENTED
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

• INFLUENCE FROM STEVE DE SHAZER AND THE MENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE’S

BRIEF THERAPY
• MRI’S MODEL FOCUSES ON PROBLEMS BUT USES SYSTEMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM
FAMILY THEORY
• INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM
• INFLUENCED BY PSYCHOLOGIST MILTON ERICKSON—PEOPLE POSSESS ALL OF
THE SKILLS AND STRENGTHS NECESSARY TO SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• ENGAGEMENT
• WORKER JOINS WITH THE CLIENT
• USES ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS, GENUINENESS, AND A NONJUDGMENTAL ATTITUDE
• IDENTIFY AND ACCEPT UNIQUENESS OF CLIENT
• USE CLIENT’S LANGUAGE TO TALK ABOUT ISSUES IN CONTEXT
• USE NORMALIZING
• BE AWARE OF STRENGTHS, SKILLS, AND RESOURCES THAT CLIENT MAY REVEAL
• THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF CLIENTS WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM SFBT: VOLUNTARY,
COMPLAINANT, INVOLUNTARY
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• ASSESSMENT
• IDENTIFY EXCEPTIONS TO THE CURRENT SITUATION
• IDENTIFY CLIENT STRENGTHS
• ASK CLIENT ABOUT ANY CHANGES OCCURRING JUST PRIOR TO TALKING WITH YOU
• LOOK FOR PRIOR COPING SKILLS
• LOOK FOR DIFFERENCES IN SEVERITY, DURATION, INTENSITY, OR FREQUENCY OF THE PROBLEM
• IDENTIFY THE WHO, WHAT, AND WHERE THE PROBLEM OCCURS
• GOALS SHOULD BE CLEARLY DEFINED AND SPECIFIC, ACHIEVABLE WITHIN A SHORT TIME
PERIOD
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• ASSESSMENT
• USE WORDS AND PHRASES THAT INDICATE THE FUTURE
• GOALS SHOULD BE CLARIFIED
• THE MIRACLE QUESTION HELPS TO CLARIFY GOALS, BUT DON’T ASK IT TOO SOON
• SCALING QUESTIONS CAN BE USED TO INDICATE GOAL ACHIEVEMENT, TO ASSESS
CLIENT MOTIVATION, TO MEASURE THE CURRENT SEVERITY OF THE PROBLEM, AND
TO INVESTIGATE RELATIONSHIPS
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• INTERVENTION
• CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY EXCEPTIONS
• EXTERNALIZE THE PROBLEM; THE PROBLEM IS THE PROBLEM, NOT THE CLIENT
• ASSIGNING THE FIRST FORMULA TASK HELPS TO IDENTIFY EXCEPTIONS BECAUSE IT
IS TO FIND SOMETHING GOOD THAT IS HAPPENING
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• TERMINATION
• BEGAN AT FIRST MEETING
• WHEN DESIRED GOAL HAS BEEN MAINTAINED, THE TALK TURNS TO TERMINATION
• THEN IDENTIFY RESOURCES, PATTERNS, SENTENCES, BEHAVIORS, AND OTHER ITEMS
THAT CAN BE USED TO MAINTAIN THE CHANGE ACROSS TIME
• SOCIAL WORKER USES LANGUAGE THAT PERPETUATES CHANGE, BUT RECOGNIZES
POSSIBLE DIFFICULTIES AHEAD
 USES OF SFBT IN THE HELPING PROCESS

• TERMINATION
• USE LANGUAGE THAT CAN SOLIDIFY CHANGES ACROSS TIME
• CLIENTS CAN USE SCALING TO SELF-MONITOR
• EVALUATION INCLUDES THE USE OF SCALING QUESTIONS
STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE SFBT
MODEL

• IS EFFECTIVE AT MICRO AND MEZZO LEVELS

• IS COMPATIBLE WITH SOCIAL WORK VALUES
• IS EFFECTIVE AT MINIMIZING RESISTANCE
• THERE IS A LACK OF EMPIRICAL STUDY
• IT HAS INHERENT METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS, SUCH AS ITS SUBJECTIVITY
• IT MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE TO ASSUME THAT CLIENTS DO POSSESS EVERYTHING THEY
NEED TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS
• THERE IS A LACK OF FOCUS ON FEELINGS