Solution-Focused Therapy: A Definition
How do you know which type of therapy is best for you? Do you prefer short-term therapy, or are you looking to delve deep into your concerns? Would you prefer to engage in dynamic conversations with your therapist, or do you rather just be listened to? This is usually a decision made by a licensed therapist or counselor, but there's a type of therapy that tends to give the client more agency in deciding what works best: solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). SFBT is a modern approach to psychotherapy, and evidence based practice, that tends to focus on solutions to the client's current problems instead of dwelling on past concerns. This solution focused approach empowers clients by emphasizing positive behavioral changes and building on previous solutions.
Special Words And Coping Questions
After spending thousands of hours observing both recorded and live therapy sessions, the pair of counselors discovered that there were certain words or questions the therapist used that led to a more positive therapeutic change in patients. While most traditional forms of therapy discuss the client's history and past problems before the therapist decides what type of treatment would be best, with SFBT, the therapist doesn’t normally want to talk about the past, only the present and future. Solution focused practitioners prioritize the client's situation, emphasizing hope inspiring stories and positive things in their lives to help them envision a better life tomorrow through a series of typically eight sessions.
In the context of SFBT, bibliometric differences refer to the various ways in which the scientific research output related to this therapeutic approach is measured. Generally, bibliometrics evaluates the number of times an article on SFBT has been cited, published, and indexed. Most data on SFBT originates from countries such as the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia, which contributes to the understanding and evaluation of this therapy's effectiveness.
Solution-Focused Counseling: Using Evidence-Based Strategies
Patterns And Behaviors
While therapists can help a person find alternatives to negative patterns or behaviors, in SFBT, the client, for the most part, is usually the one to decide what it is they need to do to be successful based on their current level of motivation. Some of these ideas may be indirectly related to the client's concerns and self-esteem, but most often the idea is to construct a way for the client to reach the goals they have set for themselves. SFBT’s effectiveness, supported by outcome research, is usually more about building solutions than about solving problems. While current challenges are not ignored, the SFBT therapist may try to push the client into focusing their energy on their desired future. They do this by learning the client's useful or positive behaviors and increasing the frequency of these actions.
Overall Topics
Another unique aspect of SFBT is that it doesn’t usually matter what the reason for therapy is. No matter what the client's concerns are, the approach tends to be the same. This is because SFBT is about changing what is going on, whether it be depression, anxiety, addiction, or even family concerns. The overall topic of this type of therapy, which has been supported by therapy evidence based research like in the International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, is centered on the client's vision of their goals, what is important to them, their concerns, their strengths and resources, their motivational level and confidence, and their continued progress toward reaching their goals.
Questions And The Miracle Question
At the core of the SFBT conversations, facilitated by SF therapists, are specific questions that focus on the client's vision of the future and draw on their resources, strengths, and past successes, including good behavior. These questions vary depending on the client, but the basic premise is to get the client to describe their own life and what it is they need to change to be happy. The questions will depend on the answer to the question before it. For example, if the therapist were to ask, what if your problems were miraculously solved while you were asleep? What would be different in your life? The counselor uses the client's responses to build the platform for the next question, with each question building on the client's previous answer.
Scaling And Three Wishes
Summarizing The Session
Typically, solution-focused sessions end with the therapist summarizing what the client has said that fits with the idea that change is expected. This summary might include assets that the client has noticed and mentioned during the session, whatever the client is doing that is useful, and signs of hopefulness. The therapist could then suggest getting the client to pay attention to signs of their progress so that they can continue to make progress.
Solution-Focused Family Therapy
Solution-focused brief family therapy, or SFBFT, is a short, goal-directed, and future-oriented approach to traditional family therapy and family dynamics work. The therapist typically focuses on figuring out the family's strengths and building upon them. Since SFBFT is a shortened type of counseling, the counselor does not usually spend time going over what has happened in the past and who did what. They are more interested in what needs to be changed to help the family become happier and more stable. The main premise to SFBFT is that if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it. In other words, if something works, do it more often, and if something is not working, do something else.
Strengths But Not Weaknesses
Focusing on the family's strengths is essential to SFBFT, and finding those strengths may take a bit of time. However, if the therapist asks the right questions, they can usually find out their strengths in the first session. This allows the rest of the short sessions to focus only on how the family is going to work toward a better future. When something is working, rather than discussing why it is not working, the therapist takes the family around the problem to find a different way to make things better. The counselor may ask the family how they have managed the problems to keep things from getting worse. In doing this, they can work together to discover how they are controlling the problems, which may make it easier to discover the solutions to the problems at hand. It can be helpful to talk about the strengths rather than the weaknesses in SFBFT and to complement the family on their insight and help.
Small Steps Can Lead To Big Changes
Compliments
As mentioned previously, complimenting the clients, whether they are an individual or a family, can be essential to working toward a solution as well as their goal. The counselor may take time to go over what each client has done to move closer to that goal and praise them on what they have done. Giving the client positive feedback for every little thing they do that brings them closer to the future they want may help them push harder and get there faster. At the end of each session, the therapist typically asks each client how they think the session went and what they learned that would get them moving toward their goal. If the client mentions something that they did to help, the counselor may again compliment them for it to encourage them to do it more often and continue to move forward.
Trying SFBT Online
If you’re interested in SFBT but don’t want to go to a therapist’s office, you might try online therapy, which research, including studies from respected sources such as the Oxford University Press, has demonstrated to be just as effective as in-person therapy. With BetterHelp, you can talk to a therapist about SFBT from the comfort of your home or anywhere with an internet connection. You can connect with them via videoconferencing or phone at a time that works for your schedule. You can also contact them via in-app messaging in between sessions, and they’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Takeaway
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Concept Of Solution-Focused Counseling?
The general concept of solution-focused brief therapy is that therapy should focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems. Solution-focused therapy techniques include investigating solutions, asking coping questions, and deciding how to move forward. SFBT can sometimes be used for psychiatric treatment of mental health problems like depression, anxiety, child behavioral problems, or relationship issues.
Because it is solution focused, this form of therapy is usually a brief therapy. That's because the time in therapy sessions is typically not spent going over old problems. It encourages clients experiencing trauma by addressing present concerns and working toward future goals during therapy sessions.
Each solution-focused therapy session is typically designed to find solutions. First, the therapist usually finds out what's already working. What are your strengths? What has helped in the past? These questions may uncover the client's ability to handle problems. The therapist can help the client recognize that they do some things well, and they can do more to advance their treatment if they remain solution focused.
What Are The Techniques Used In Solution-Focused Counseling?
Solution-focused brief therapy has several techniques.
Goal Clarification. This technique may help keep your solution focused because it shows you where you want to go. Knowing your goals can help you work toward a happier future, as it often helps to create a detailed description of what you're aiming for.
Finding The Exception. One of the things that make solution-focused therapy such a brief type of therapy is that the therapist tends to move quickly to find the exception to the problem. For example, if you don't manage anxiety in most situations, what is the exception in which you cope well? Knowing this, you and the therapist can find ways to use this exception at other times. As the client makes positive changes, the exception can become the rule, and the client's life often improves.
Invitation To Experiment. In SFBT, the therapist may suggest that you try an experiment. When you recognize that something you are already doing is working, the therapist may invite you to try that strategy in some other circumstance. With a positive, solution-focused mindset, you give it a try in a new situation, and you may find a solution that works in that context.
Miracle Question. During a therapy session, the solution-focused therapist may ask you the miracle question to help illuminate your own goals and gain positivity. The question is about what would happen if a miracle occurred and the problem that prompted you to seek professional medical advice completely went away as you slept. What would you notice that would tell you that the miracle had occurred? A person's life might change dramatically if the problem were gone, but what would that look like? This question may help you gain self-esteem because you begin to imagine what it would be like to be without the problem. Then, you may be better equipped to take the steps to reach that goal.
Consultation Breaks. During consultation breaks in SFBT, you stop working on finding solutions so that you can discuss concerns that didn't come up in early sessions. Afterward, the therapist typically gives you a therapeutic massage, complimenting you, summarizing what you have learned, and encouraging hopefulness about reaching your goals.
What Are The Three Rules Of Solution-Focused Therapy?
In a way, solution-focused brief therapy can be summed up in its three rules.
If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
If it's already working, do more of that.
If something isn't working, switch it up and do something different.
Is Solution-Focused Therapy CBT?
No, solution-focused therapy is not the same as CBT.
CBT typically spends more time addressing the problem the person came in to solve. Because this type of therapy is solution focused, only a minimal amount of time is spent talking about the problem. Instead, in SFBT, you and the therapist will likely talk about the solution.
In addition, in CBT, the therapist may have a more active role, but in solution-focused therapy, you are the expert. You know yourself better than anyone else, so the therapist’s approach may be that you know what works and what doesn't. The therapist is there to help you clarify what you want and find your own solutions.
CBT also usually takes longer—about 25 sessions. SFBT typically takes only about seven sessions. Therefore, SFBT is a relatively brief therapy and may even be more cost-effective than CBT and many other forms of therapy.
Who Is Solution-Focused Therapy Not Good For?
Solution-focused therapy is not usually helpful for people with severe problems or major mental health conditions. People who are experiencing trauma that is severe or who have major psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia or a major depressive episode may not benefit much from solution-focused therapy. Instead, they may need longer-term therapy that more directly addresses the problems they are facing.
This brief type of therapy may help with a solution for trauma symptoms, but it can't always help a client get past what happened to them in the past. As for substance use, this brief therapy may be effective depending on the addiction severity. If your problems are long-lasting or severe, you may need another therapy solution.
What Are The Five Principles Of The Solution-Based Approach?
Move toward desired changes.
With solution-focused brief therapy, the goal is usually to keep you moving forward to the changes you want to make. Rather than moving back into past concerns, you and the therapist will likely be future oriented. SFBT is typically concerned with what you want to do now and what kind of future you want to make for yourself.
Work to help clients put their useful ideas into action.
In SFBT, the therapist typically uses methods to help you recognize your useful ideas. Then, you work out how to put those ideas into action. Unlike some forms of therapy, this brief therapy tends to be action oriented and focus on finding solutions from strategies that worked in the past.
Take a strength-based perspective.
While some types of therapy focus on improving your weaknesses, SFBT typically teaches you to approach life from a strength-based perspective. Throughout the therapeutic process, the therapist tends to look beyond the particular problem that caused you to seek therapy and sees the strengths that can help you solve it.
Use constructive language.
Many clients come to therapy with a negative way of speaking about their concerns. SFBT therapists often model and encourage constructive language. They tend to give their clients direct and indirect compliments. They also usually talk about and encourage their clients to discuss their strengths. SFBT tends to be a constructive collaboration based on positive language that seeks to build up rather than break down.
Place solutions in a social context.
The SFBT approach includes the goal of putting each solution into its social context. In this type of therapy, the presenting problems and the solution to each affect and are affected by the presence of other people in the client's life.
For example, imagine that a child is having classroom behavioral problems. Child psychology recognizes that these problems are affecting the other children in the classroom as well as the child themselves. Brief therapy may help with this if the therapist helps the child and their parents consider the broader context as they seek to find solutions. The family process needs to be considered, and not just the individual child's behavior.
How Do You Structure A Solution-Focused Therapy Session?
This brief therapy begins at the therapist’s office or online when the therapist establishes a positive and hopeful outlook.
Next, they typically encourage a discussion of the client's life experiences surrounding their presenting problem.
At this point, they usually look for a solution that has worked in the past, in addition to considering the client's strengths and abilities.
The therapist usually asks questions rather than telling the client what to do or interpreting what is going on with them.
The therapy sessions typically stay oriented to the present and future.
The therapist often gives compliments and encourages the client to do what works and has worked in the past.
They usually ask about what changes happened before the session, help the client establish goals, and ask miracle questions, coping questions, and scaling questions.
They often pay attention to the solution and exceptions and focus on building the client's confidence.
Next, the therapist usually takes a break and gives their message. Following that, they tend to talk about experiments and homework assignments before leaving the session on a positive note.
What Is The Miracle Question In Solution-Focused Counseling?
The miracle question asks to identify how your day-to-day life would be different if you woke up and your problem or the source of your stress was gone. For example, a therapist might ask the following question: “If tomorrow you woke up and your life was magically perfect, how would you tell that something happened?” This evidence-based question has proven its value to many clinicians and researchers. The miracle question can be effective in helping clients see their lives in positive ways and work step-by-step toward a solution to manage their problems.
What Are The Three Main Questions In Solution-Focused Brief Therapy?
The three main questions are the following:
What is the best thing you hope will come from this therapy?
What would your life be like if your hopes came true?
What are you doing now, or what have you done before, that could help you get what you hope for?
Is Solution-Focused Counseling Good For Anxiety?
Yes, this therapy can be useful for people with anxiety.
What are the major limitations of solution-focused therapy?
Is SFBT ideal for kids with behavioral problems?
Is SFBT ideal for individuals with crises and trauma?
How does SFBT help someone get over his issues through positive psychology?
What is the usual length of treatment for solution-focused therapy?
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