SolutionFocused Brief Therapy

1
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
2
Questions Counselors Ask

• About problems
• About mistakes
• About causes
• About feelings
• About Solutions!

3
Why do most people go to counseling?

• Solutions!

4
For how many sessions do most people go to
counseling? (mode)

• One!

5

• Of the people who go to counseling for multiple
  sessions, what is the average number of visits
  they make? (mean)
• 3 - 7

6
Origins of SFBT

• de Shazers family work in Milwaukee (1985)
• It is based on the work of Erickson (1954)
• Primary focus is to generate solutions to the
  client's problems from his/her complaints.

7
My Premise for this Session

• There are times when priests can apply the
  principles of SFBT to the social, personal,
  decision-making dilemmas of their parishioners.

8
COMPARISON OF Counseling APPROACHESTRADITION
AL SOLUTION-FOCUSED

• Focus is on clients Focus is on clients
• deficits competence
• weaknesses strengths
• limitations possibilities
• problems attempted solutions
• Talk is focused on Talk is focused on
• clients problems possible solutions
• clients past present clients future
• stability change

9
COMPARISON OF Counseling APPROACHESTRADITION
AL SOLUTION-FOCUSED

• Counselor looks for Counselor looks for
• enduring traits exceptions
• causes possible solutions
• Counselor is Counselor is
• expert student
• reactive active interactive
• dabbler intentional

10
COMPARISON OF Counseling APPROACHESTRADITION
AL SOLUTION-FOCUSED

• Client is Client is
• student expert
• Counseling is Counseling is
• open ended structured
• time unlimited time limited
• Solutions are Solutions are
• outside the client within the client

11
COMPARISON OF Counseling APPROACHESTRADITION
AL SOLUTION-FOCUSED

• Goals are Goals are
• set by counselor set by client
• insight-oriented behaviour-oriented
• absence of problems presence of solutions

12
3 Major Principles

• Build co-operative relationship.
• Negotiate constructive focus for client's
  concerns/requests.
• Evoke client's existing skills,
• knowledge resources.

13
MAJOR CHANGE PRINCIPLES

• Co-operating
• Engaging with clients in ways which build
  sustain collaborative relationships (rapport,
  nurturing, genuine, honesty, optimism, positive,
  on-side).
• Assumption
• To the extent that clients feel accepted,
  understood, appreciated, respected, safe in the
  Counseling setting, they will be more willing to
  contribute their energy expertise to the
  conversation, to access their own
  resourcefulness for change.

14

• Negotiating
• Inviting clients to explore describe their
  concerns requests in ways which avoid verbal
  closure, establish a focus, create a space for
  future possibilities (identify things they can
  change, stay where you can make a difference,
  what can you live with).
• Assumption
• Prospects for therapeutic change will be
  enhanced by a conversational process in which
  clients are invited to describe their situation
  (concerns, requests, priorities) using a grammar
  of possibilities, rather than a grammar of
  problems, characterisations, accusations or
  recriminations.

15

• Evoking
• Inviting clients to access, elaborate draw upon
  areas of personal knowledge, experience,
  competence imagination which will facilitate
  desired change (people are experts who have
  strengths/capacity, finds exceptions, guide
  client).
• Assumption
• The process of therapeutic change tends to be
  more time-effective, self-generating, significant
  satisfying when it enables clients to build
  upon existing knowledge, competencies, language
  resources.

16

• CO-OPERATING provides a context for...
• NEGOTIATING, which provides a
• context for...
• EVOKING, which enhances
• possibilities for change.

17
PROBLEM TALK

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Anger problems
• Depressed
• Oppositional
• Rebellious
• Co-dependent
• Disruptive
• Family issues
• Shy
• Negative peer pressure
• Feelings of rejection
• Isolated

18
SOLUTION TALK

• Very energetic at times, or short attention span
• Sometimes gets upset
• Sometimes sad
• Argues a point often
• Developing his/her own way
• People are important to them
• Often forgets the class rules
• Worries about home life
• Takes time to know people
• People try to influence them
• People forget to notice them
• Likes being by themselves

19
SFBT Critical Points

• 1. Nonpathological approach to open up
  possibilities.
• 2. Not necessary to promote insight in order to
  be helpful.
• 3. Not necessary to know a great deal about the
  complaint.
• 4. Clients have complaints, not symptoms.
• 5. Clients are more motivated when they define
  goals.

20

• 6. Snowball effect will occur when one person
  makes one change.
• 7. Complex problems do not have to necessitate
  complex solutions.
• 8. Fitting into the clients world-view lessens
  resistance encourages co-operation.
• 9. Motivation is a key can be encouraged by
  aligning with the client against the problem.
• 10. There is no such thing as resistance when we
  co-operate.

21

• 11. If it works don't fix it if not, do
  something different.
• 12. Focusing on the possible changeable lessens
  frustration.
• 13. Go slowly focus on tasks that lead to
  success.
• 14. Rapid change is possible when we identify
  exceptions.
• 15. Change is constant.

22

• 16. Every complaint pattern contains
• some sort of exception, so keep looking.
• 17. Changing the time place will change
  interactions behaviors.
• 18. Looking at problems differently can encourage
  their resolutions.
• 19. What will be different when the problem is
  solved?

23
A Guide

• Examine clients complaints carefully to
  determine if they behave as if they are trapped.
• Assist clients to alter complaints into solutions
  or exceptions when the complaint is "less"
  painful, non-existent, or not operative...
• Identify the solutions.
• Encourage client to share what happens in their
  life that they want to continue to happen.
• Provide clients with cues-focused therapeutic
  suggestions, tasks, or directives that lead in
  the direction of solutions.

24

• Always search for exceptions to the clients
  complaints.
• Compliment client for their positive or proactive
  abilities.
• Ask client the "miracle question."
• If there was a miracle one night while you were
  sleeping your complaint was gone when you woke,
  how would you know? How would your significant
  others know? Your parents/friends?"
• Ask client to rate themselves on how well they
  are implementing their solutions 1 to 10.

25

• Major task is to help the client do something
  different.
• The focus on the problem is redirected toward
  solutions already existing.
• Only small change is necessary because any
  change, no matter how small, creates the context
  for further change.
• Goals are framed in positive terms with an
  expectancy for change.

26
KEY ELEMENTS

• 1. Co-operation
• 2. Utilization of client resources strengths
• 3. Exceptions to the problem
• 4. Assumptive presuppositional questions
• 5. Use of compliments
• 6. Assigning behavioral tasks
• 7. Scaling

27
BRIEF THERAPY STEPS

• SALIENT
• SIMPLE
• SPECIFIC CONCRETE
• THE PRESENCE OF SOMETHING
• PERCEIVED AS HARD WORK
• REALISTIC ACHIEVABLE

28
TYPES of QUESTIONS

• 1. PRE-SESSION CHANGE
• 2. GOAL-ORIENTED
• 3. THE MIRACLE QUESTION
• 4. EXCEPTIONS
• 5. SCALING QUESTIONS
• 6. ON-TRACK
• 7. SUMMARY/BRIDGING
• 8. COPING QUESTIONS

29
Questions

• 1. Pre-Session Change Questions
• Start to the solution.
• 2. Goal-Oriented Questions
• What is your goal in coming here?
• What would you like to change?
• What would you like instead?
• 3. Miracle Questions
• Fantasy about the solution.
• Miracle is a means to a goal.
• What do you need to do as a first step?

30
More Questions

• 4. Exception-Finding Questions
• Times when parts of these solutions are
  happening?
• Every problem has an exception capitalize
  expand on them.
• Exceptions will replace problems.
• Resource model, NOT deficiency model.

31
Some More Questions

• 5. Scaling Questions
• How committed are you to solve the problem or
  find a solution?
• What would she say she needs to see you do, so
  she says you have moved up from a 2 to a 3?
  (this brings in absent members into the session)
• If 10 is when you are ready to leave, 1 was
  when you phoned, where are you now?

32
How Scaling Questions Help

• Quantify feelings, attitudes, motivations
  thoughtshelp express thoughts, feelings
  attitudes that are difficult to put into words.
• Allow better conceptualisation of present context
  perspective
• Focus on achievement solutions
• Instil a sense of change, progress movement
  client is in control of change progress.

33
Scaling Questions Tips

• With less verbal people (children), use an
  incremental response scale Thermometer or Faces
• e.g., very sad, bit sad, neutral/so-so, happy,
  very happy
• or
• e.g., calm, bothered, frustrated, a little mad,
  very mad, furious

34
Even More Questions

• 6. On Track
• Lets say in the next few days your goal is not
  totally happening yet, but you are confident you
  are on track, what would tell you that you were
  making progress?
• 7. Summary/Bridging
• Do you think that as you continue to do these
  things that you would be on track to getting what
  you from coming here?

35
Final Questions

• 8. Coping Questions
• Chronic situations e.g., HIV/AIDS, physical
  disabilities, chronic mental illness, significant
  other is drug dependent.
• How do you cope each day?
• How do you manage to get up, instead of staying
  in bed?
• Looking for strengths resources to amplify them.

36
RESISTENCE?!

• People sometimes dont follow plans,
• NOT
• because they dont want to
• its just that they havent done these things
  before, are not in a pattern yet!
• Sometimes we need to help clients identify
  obstacles keeping them from being on the solution
  track

37
INVOLUNTARY CLIENTS

• When a client is mandated or referred....the
  following questions are useful...
• What do you want from coming here?
• What does want from you coming here?
• Is some of this something you want as well?
• When says you do not have to come anymore,
  what will they say you are doing differently?
• When says you are 'on track' what will they
  say you are doing or doing differently?