Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy?

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is an evidence-based, future-focused, goal oriented, brief form of psychotherapy (De Shazer et al., 2021). By incorporating positive psychology practices and principles, SFBT aims to focus on solutions instead of placing all focus on the problems or concerns that an individual may present within therapy (Ackerman, 2017; De Shazer et al., 2021). SFBT encourages a collaborative approach between both the client and the psychotherapist to help the client reflect upon, identify, work towards, and achieve their goals in therapy (Franklin et al., 2017; Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy, n.d.). 

What does Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Consist of? 

SFBT incorporates a variety of different activities, questions, techniques, and interventions in order to facilitate and monitor positive change and growth. Below are just a few techniques a psychotherapist may implement into your sessions and/or treatment plans to help you identify goals and facilitate positive development and improvement:

  • The “miracle” question encourages individuals to imagine their futures in which their most pressing problems and/or concerns are no longer impacting or affecting their lives. This can help both the client and therapist to establish realistic and achievable goals and instill hope for the future (Ackerman, 2017; De Shazer et al., 2021). 

  • Scaling questions ask individuals to rate their experiences on a scale from 0 (low) to 10 (high). Some examples of scaling questions and topics can include how a particular problem is impacting the client, the client’s stress and anxiety levels for the week, and how comfortable the client feels in the therapeutic setting with their therapist. By asking scaling questions, the therapist is better able to track progress and improvement and better understand if modifications to the treatment plan should be implemented (Ackerman, 2017; De Shazer et al., 2021). 

  • Finding exceptions helps individuals identify times in their past where the problem did not occur, times when they were not affected by the problem, times when they were able to successfully cope with the problem, and/or times where the problem held little power against them. This helps both the therapist and client identify what may or may not help the problem. This also helps instill motivation and hope within the client and may even help the client identify the positive changes they have made in the past to help with the problem (Ackerman, 2017; Da Shazer et al., 2021). 

Who can Benefit from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy?

SFBT can be beneficial and adapted towards many different populations, cultures, and mental health disorders or disabilities. Previous research focused on the effectiveness of SFBT has noted SFBT to be successful across child, adolescent, and adult populations around the world (Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy, n.d.). In addition, SFBT has shown effectiveness with anxiety disorders, stress, depression, parenting, behavioural problems, and interpersonal and psychosocial problems (Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy, n.d.). 

If you are looking to begin your therapeutic journey towards healing and are interested in learning more about Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) please contact us at (647) 267-9853 to book a free phone consultation with one of our therapists. Cara is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) who is able to provide SFBT. 

References

Ackerman, E. (2017, September 28). What is Solution-Focused Therapy: 3 essential techniques. PositivePsychology. https://positivepsychology.com/solution-focused-therapy/

De Shazer, S., Dolan, Y., Korman, H., Trepper, T., McCollum, E., & Berg, I. K. (2021). More than miracles: The state of the art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Routledge.

Franklin, C., Zhang, A., Froerer, A., & Johnson, S. (2017). Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A systematic review and meta‐summary of process research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(1), 16-30. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12193 

Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy. (n.d.). What is Solution-Focused Therapy? https://solutionfocused.net/what-is-solution-focused-therapy/


Vaughan Counselling and Psychotherapy