Final: SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY (Berg, Shazer)

Question 1

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY: Key concepts

Answer 1

○ Changing behavior is most important
○ Do not need to know WHY a behavior occurs
○ Positive orientation: non pathologizing
○ There are exceptions to every problem
○ Change is inevitable
○ Therapeutic alliance is an important - ​collaborative
○ Short term treatment - both client and clinician know in advance, fewer than 10 sessions,
usually 3-5 (works well in school environment with guidance counselors)
○ Finding solutions or clues to resolve complaints is essential. P. 245
○ Lacks many features of well-developed approaches. It’s literature does not offer detailed
understanding of human development
○ Typical interventions encourage people to reverse or alter what they were doing, not just do
more of the same
○ Identify exceptions to people’s problematic patterns
■ See p. 246 for interventions, such as active listening, empathy, open questions, etc

Question 2

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY: Types of questions

Answer 2

○ Exception questions
■ provide clients with the opportunity to identify times when things have been different
for them. Examples of exception questions include: Tell me about the times when
you don’t get angry.

○ Miracle questions
■ If you were to wake up tomorrow and this problem was completely solved: how
would your life be different?

○ Scaling questions
■ Help client break down their perception of what is happening
■ Onascaleof1-10…?
● What is preventing you from being a 1…?

• Solution talk p. 247 - Important tool in SFBT
• Emphasize open questions
• Use presupposition language

Question 3

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY: Limitations

Answer 3

○ Lacks well developed treatment plan and details of human development
○ Not usually appropriate as primary or only theory for severe or urgent emotional difficulties
○ Approach requires well trained clinicians; not as easy as it looks
○ Misconception that brief treatment is all that is ever needed

Question 4

SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY: Goals

Answer 4

○ Attainable, concrete, specific, measurable
○ Structured in the here and now
○ Action (process) oriented
○ Focus on changing the viewing, changing the doing, and accessing resources/strengths
○ Terminating treatment is the ultimate goal