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SOLUTION-FOCUSED

BRIEF THERAPY
CAPEDING, ERICHA HAYES H.

Solution-focused brief therapy


(SFBT)
future-focused, goal-oriented therapeutic
approach to brief therapy
shifts the focus from problem
solving to an emphasis on
solutions
emphasizes strengths and
resiliencies of the individual

KEY CONCEPTS

POSITIVE ORIENTATION
grounded on the optimistic assumption that
people are resourceful and competent
role of the counselor: to help clients
recognize the resources they already
possess, such as resilience, courage, and
ingenuity

POSITIVE ORIENTATION
parallels to positive
psychology: concentrates
on what is right and
what is working for
people rather than
dwelling on deficits,
weaknesses, and
problems

FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS, NOT


PROBLEMS
Disregards the
past in favor of
both the present
and the future

FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS, NOT


PROBLEMS
not necessary to know the
cause of a problem to solve it
What is right for one person
may not be right for another.
little attention to
diagnosis, history taking, or
exploration of the problem

LOOKING FOR WHAT IS


WORKING
counselors assist clients in paying attention to the
exceptions to their problem patterns or their
instances of success
Once you know what works, do more of it.

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS GUIDING


PRACTICE
There are advantages to a positive focus on solutions
and on the future
Problem-focused thinking prevents people from
recognizing effective ways they have dealt with
problems
There are exceptions to every problem, or times when
the problem was minimal or even absent
Participants often present only one side of themselves

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS GUIDING


PRACTICE
No problem is constant, and change is
inevitable
People want to change, have the capacity to
change, and are doing their best to make
change happen
Group members can be trusted in their
intention to create solutions to their problems

ROLE AND
FUNCTIONS OF THE
GROUP LEADER

A NOT KNOWING POSITION


Clients participate more if they
determine the direction of conversation
Client-as-expert rather than
therapist-as-expert
The aim is to enter a group members
world as fully as possible and to elicit
the perspectives, resources, strengths,
and unique experiences of each group
member

CREATING A THERAPEUTIC
PARTNERSHIP
qualities of the therapeutic relationship are at the
heart of the effectiveness of SFBT
alliance pertains to the collaborative partnership
between group members and the group facilitator
counseling works best when clients are actively
involved in the therapeutic process
group leaders create a climate of mutual respect,
dialogue, inquiry, and affirmation

THE PROCESS OF
THE SOLUTIONFOCUSED GROUP

STEPS IN
THE
CHANGE
PROCESS

STEPS IN THE CHANGE


PROCESS
Find out what group members want rather than
searching for what they do not want.
Do not look for pathology, and do not attempt to reduce
members abilities by giving them a diagnostic label.
If what members are doing is not working, encourage
them to experiment with doing something different.
Keep therapy brief by approaching each session as if it
were the last and only session.

Setting the Tone for the Group


How can I be useful to you?

Beginning to Set Goals


What will be different in your life when this
problem is no longer prominent, has become
irrelevant, or has even disappeared?
What will be going on in the future that will
tell you and the rest of us in the group that
things are better for you?

Searching for Exceptions to the


Problem
"Lets talk about the times before your
problem started to interfere in your life.
What were you doing at those times that
kept the problem at bay?"

Encouraging Motivation
As each of you listened to others today, is
there someone in our group who could be a
source of encouragement for you to do
something different?

Assisting Group Members With Task


Development
"Many of you have talked about times when the problem
bothered you less. Now lets consider what you might do before
we meet next time to keep these problems smaller.
"As we close for today, I want to suggest that each of you
monitor your daily activities until our next session. Pay
particular attention to situations that are not bothering you as
often. Note these instances of success and bring them with you
to the next group session.

The Next Group Session


Who wants to begin today by telling
us what has gone better for you since
our last meeting?

CREATING MEMBER GOALS


members address what they want and what concerns
they are willing to explore
clear, specific, observable, small, realistic,
achievable changes that may lead to additional
positive outcomes

CREATING MEMBER GOALS


stated in the positive in the clients
language
are process or action oriented
are structured in the here-and-now
are attainable, concrete, and specific
are controlled by the client.

TERMINATING
What needs to be different in your life as a
result of coming here for you to say that being
in this group was worthwhile?"
When the problem is solved, what will you be
doing differently?

END OF
PRESENTATION
NEXT: APPLICATION: THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES

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