Solution Focused
Therapy (SFT), as its name suggests, focuses on solutions and is goal-oriented,
rather than problem focused as many other therapies are. It is also known
as Brief Solution Focused Therapy or Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and was
developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, who were influenced by the work
of Milton Erickson.
Basic philosophy
Change is constant
and inevitable
Clients are the
experts and define goals
Future orientation -
history is not essential
Emphasis is on what
is possible and changeable
Short term
Clients want change
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Milton Erickson's
work, on which SFT was initially developed (along with NLP, Human Givens,
Strategic Therapy, Solution Oriented & Possibility Therapy, and of course
Ericksonian Hypnotherapy) is primarily permissive (giving clients permission to
be who they are), validating (any response or behaviour is valid), observing,
and utilising (making use of what clients bring). Erickson also placed
emphasis on metaphors, use of language and indirect techniques.
Solution Focused
Therapy acknowledges distress, but focuses on success. Therapy consists of
discussions in which the client is encouraged to find their own solutions.
Different forms of questions enable this process:
The Miracle
question
De Shazer's
(1988) miracle question: "Suppose that one night, while you are asleep,
there is a miracle and the problem that brought you here is solved. However,
because you are asleep you don't know that the miracle has already happened.
When you wake up in the morning, what will be different that will tell you that
the miracle has taken place? What else?"
Erickson's
original version of the question
involved asking his client to look into the future and
see themselves as they wanted to be, problems solved, and then to
explain what had happened to cause this change to come about.
He also used a technique whereby he asked them to
think of a date in the future, then worked backwards, asking them
what had happened at various points on the way.
Building on the miracle question:
What
difference would you (& others) notice?
What are the first
things you notice?
Has any of this ever
happened before?
Would it help to
recreate any of these miracles?
What would need to
happen to do this?
What else?
Exception
Questions
Has anything been
better since the last appointment? What's changed? What's better?
Can you think of a
time in the past (month/year/ever) that you did not have this problem?
What would have to
happen for that to occur more often?
When doesn't the
problem happen?
What's different
about those times?
What are you doing
or thinking differently during those better times?
When have you been
able to stop doing....?
Are there times when
you expect to...but you remember something that helps you calm down?
What else?
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Coping Questions
How do you cope with
these difficulties?
What keeps you
going?
Who is your greatest
support?
What do they do that
is helpful?
What do you do that
stops the problem getting worse?
When you've had this
problem before, what helped you get through then?
How did you manage
to solve the problem?
What else?
Scaling questions
On a scale of 1 to
10 where 1 is the worst it's ever been and 10 is after the miracle has happened,
where are you now?
Where do you need to
be?
What will help you
move up one point?
How can you keep
yourself at that point?
What would be the
first sign that you had moved on one point further?
Who would be the
first person to notice you've moved one point up? What would they notice?