A brief overview of Solution Focused Therapy.

1. Solution-Focused
Therapy
Randy Wilhelm

2. Founders of
Solution Focused
Therapy
Steven De Shazer & Insoo Kim Berg

3. What makes it a Solution approach
compared to other theory’s?
Problem Focused Interviewing Solution-focused Interviewing
Focus is on feelings/emotions Focus is on seeing (meaning) and doing.
Looking for faults is important Designing solutions is important
The client’s view is no good. The client’s view is validated (which makes letting go of a point of
view easier).
Whose fault is it? What does the client think should happen?
Motivation is called into question. Motivation is sought and used
The past is important The future is important
The professional confronts The professional accepts the client’s view and asks: “In what way
does that help?”
The professional persuades the client. The professional lets him or herself be persuaded by the client
Big changes are needed A small change is often enough
Resources must be acquired Necessary resources are already present
Theory-determined conversation is used Client-determined conversation is used
Insight into or understanding of the problem is precondition Insight into or understanding of the problem comes with or after the
change
Theory of change is the professionals Theory of change is the client’s; the professional asks: “How will
this help you?”
The problem is always present The problem is not ever always present

4. How are solutions found by the
professional?
 To reach a solution, it is necessary to analyze the client’s solutions.
 The client is the expert. It is the client who determines his or her goal as well
as the path to reach it.
 The professional is to not judge what the client thinks of as positive.
 Problems persist only because the client thinks or says that the problems
“always” occur.

5. Ways to bring out a solution
 If something does not work, do something else: A Japanese man saw a
tsunami coming. He knew he could not get to the village in time to warn the
people. The man started the fields on fire, knowing the farmers would run up
the hill, thus saving them.
 Ask elicit questions: “what would you like to see instead of the problem? Or
what is better? (asked at the start of subsequent sessions).
 Asking questions about details: “how exactly did you do that? What exactly
did you do differently that made it go better?”
 Giving verbal rewards by paying compliments and asking competence
questions: “How did you manage that? How did you come up with that fine
idea?”

6. Six important type of questions to ask
for finding a solution
 The question about change prior to the first session.
 The question about the goal
 The question, “What else?”
 The question about exceptions
 Scaling Questions
 Questions about skills (competencies) the client already has

7. Therapeutic Process
Solution-focused behavioral therapeutic process
1.Introduction
2.(problem discussion) goal analysis
3.Baseline measurements of desired behavior
4.Functional analysis of desired behavior
5.Modification procedures (already present)
6.Execution
7.Evaluation (each session)
8.Increase desired behavior-no (go back to problem discussion. Yes-
(stop/continue/change)

8. Common Techniques
 Miracle Question. ”If you woke up tomorrow and a miracle happened to where
every problem went away, what would this be like?”
 Write, read, and burn task. Odd days client writes about obsessive thoughts, then
even days, reads them and burns them. If unwanted thoughts came to the client at
times out of the schedule, she had to tell herself, she had other things to do.
 Structured fight task(for couples/groups)-a coin is flipped to see who goes first.
The winner gets to berate the other for 10 minutes, vice versa. Then ten minutes
of silence follows before it is begun again.
 Do something different task-used for client who have tried everything.
 “Pay attention to what you do when you overcome the urge”-alternative to do
something different task. It’s used for clients to find and use exceptions to the
rule. To find when the problematic behavior does not occur.
 First session formula task-pay attention between now and next time to what
happens in your life that you would like to continue to see happen.

9. References
Bannink, F. (2010). 1001 solution-focused questions: Handbook for solution-
focused interviewing. New York: W.W. Norton