Solution focused brief therapy

Solution focused brief therapy or solution focused brief counseling (SFBC) is a kind of talking therapy that focuses on solutions to a client's problems rather than on causes of the problems or emotional responses to the problems. The approach does not focus on the past, but rather the present and even the future. The therapist/counselor uses respectful curiosity to invite the client to envision their preferred future and then therapist and client start working towards it in small incremental steps. To support this, questions are asked about the client?s story, strengths and resources, and about exceptions to the problem. Scaling is also used as a tool to measure progress.

History of Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Solution Focused Brief Therapy is one of a family of approaches, known as a systems therapies, that have been developed over the past 50 years or so, first in the USA, and eventually evolving around the world, including Europe. The title SFBT, and the specific steps involved in its practice, are attributed to Steve de Shazer and his team at the Brief Family Therapy Family Center in Milwaukee, USA. Their work in the early 1980s built on that of a number of other innovators, among them Milton Erickson, and the group at the Mental Research Institute at Palo Alto ? Gregory Bateson, Don Jackson, Paul Watzlawick, John Weakland, Virginia Satir, Jay Haley and others. All these names are important, not just as pioneers of a new way of doing therapy but also because their various collaborations and writings represent nothing short of a revolution in the way we think about social functioning and mental health and well being. Solution Focused approaches are now in constant demand. Their efficacy is well established and supported by a solid and ever increasing body of research. Solution-focused thinking has earned its place and is widely accepted in the fields of therapy, social care, education and business.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~