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1. Solution- Focused
Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Slides created by:
Clarence G. Apostol
Mapua Institute of Technology
Intramuros, Manila
1

2. Overview of SFBT
• Developed in 1982 by an American therapist
Steve de Shazer(1940-2005), his wife Korean-
American Therapist Insoo Kim Berg (1935-2007),
and associates at the Brief Family Centre in
Milwaukee, USA.
• They modified existing brief therapy, keeping
only those elements which were linked to a
good outcome for the clients.
2

3. R
U
L
E
S
1.If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
2.If it works, do more of it.
3.If it is not working, do
something different.
If it doesn‘t work, don‘t “try harder“,
rather stop doing it, and do (or
view) something else (or
differently).
3

4. Overview of SFBT
• Eckert (1993) defined SFBT as being “any
psychological intervention intended to produce
change as quickly as possible whether or not a
specific time limit is set in advance”.
• Gingerich and Eisengart (2000) provided
preliminary support for SFBT as an effective tool in
helping individuals with psychological problems.
• SFBT is a future-oriented, goal-directed approach
to solving human problems of living.
CLIENT
“Present”
FuturePast

5. Overview of SFBT
• The focus is on the client’s
health rather than the
problem, on strengths rather
than weaknesses or deficits,
and on skills, resources and
coping abilities that would
help in reaching future goals
(Sharry at all,; Dermer, Wilhite, Hemesath, & Russel, 2000).
• SFBT is a future-oriented,
goal-directed approach to
solving human problems of
living .

6. kkNature of Human Beings
• All people are free to make
choices.
• Clients felt empowered as they
described what they wanted to
happen in their lives (solutions).
• Clients have the personal
resources to solve their problems.
• Clients are encouraged to increase
the frequency of current useful
behaviors.

7. Overview of SFBT
Sources Of Difficulty
•SFBT is focused on
finding solutions not
problems and therefore
does not look at a person
in the sense of being
maladjusted.
•It is the behaviour that causes the
problems or maladjustments and
not the innate qualities of the
person.

8. Goals of the Counseling
• Encourages the client to develop a vision of
alternative future. This approach does not
attempt to eliminate problems but rather
attempts to develop new meanings or new ways
of looking at the problems so that the process of
solution building can begin (Bezanson, 2004, p. 184).
• Clients are encouraged to believe that positive
changes are always possible (Fernando, 2007).
• Goals are S-M-A-R-T in order to reach the
desired emotions, cognitions, behaviors, &
interaction in different contexts
(areas of client’s life).

9. Role of the Counselor
Cultivate
Empathy
Establish
Rapport
Nonjudgmental
Consultant &
Collaborator

10. SFBT Techniques
Miracle Question
 One of the most interesting interventions
developed by de Shazer and his colleagues
has been called the miracle question (de
Shazer, 1991).

11. Steps In The Miracle Method
(Scott D. Miller and Insoo Kim Berg)
1. State your desire for something in your life to be
different.
2. Envision that a miracle happens and your life is
different.
3. Make sure the miracle is important to you.
4. Keep the miracle small.
5. Define the change with language that is positive,
specific, concrete, and behavioral.
6. State how you will start your journey rather than
how you will end it.
7. Be clear about who, where, and when, but not
why.

12. SFBT Techniques
1. The Miracle Question
One version of the miracle question is as follows:
 Suppose tonight, while you are asleep, a miracle
happens and this problem is solved.
 You didn't know that the miracle happened because
you were asleep.
 What will be happening the next day and how will you
know that the problem is solved?
 De Shazer felt that this question focused on what will
be present in the person's life when the problem is
absent.
 The person was not being asked to imagine the process
of getting rid of the problem and was able to bring
more of their nonproblem-focused experiences into use
Source; (de Shazer, 1991).

13. SFBT Techniques
1. The Miracle Question (cont…)
 What would be the SIGNS that a miracle had
occurred? (i.e., “you would see me talking to my
parents over breakfast”).
 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?

14. SFBT Techniques
2. Scaling Questions
 The therapist asks the Miracle Question’s Scale to
have the client evaluate his own progress.
 “From a scale 1-10, where 1 means the initial
appointment was arranged and 10 means the day
after the miracle, where are things now?

15. SFBT Techniques
Example of Scaling Questions
 Consider the following exchange with the
TYPHOON ONDOY SURVIVOR in the major
part of LUZON last Sept 26, 2009.
 On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the
happiest you felt, and 1 is the worst and
saddest you felt where would you say you
are now?

16. SFBT Techniques
3. The Exception Finding Question
 All problems have exceptions and paying attention
to those times when exceptions occur is an
important intervening tool
 Encouraged the client to describe what they
differently when they are not depressed, anxious, a
acting compulsively, etc.
 “What is different when the problem is not
occurring?”
 It minimizes the pervasive nature of the issues.

17. SFBT Techniques
4. The Coping Question
Give the client credit for any small success
Examples:
 Even though you were so sad, how were you able
to get up and get dressed for work?”
 “Even though you were so frustrated with your
boyfriend, how were you able to calm yourself
down?”
 “With all the terrible things you have been going
through, what has kept you alive?”

18. SFBT Techniques
Other Model of Questions
Goaling Questions
 “What do you want to achieve or change?”
 As a result of us working together, what will
you be doing better or different?
Presumptive Questions
 “When you two get over your problem, what
will you talk about?”

19. SFBT Techniques
Other Model of Questions
 The Nightmare Question- “Think about having a
terrible nightmare where your problem was
amplified. What would be happening to let you
know your nightmare came true?”

20. Competence/Resource questions- “How did you do
that?” “How did you figure it out?”
Concept Breaking Questions- “So you’d like to
come up with a way to find a solution?
Other Model of Questions

21. Steps in Counseling
1. Brief description of the problem.
2. Goal setting- client tells the
counselor/therapist what changes s/he
wishes to see or occur.
 Start small- what will be the very first
sign that things are moving in the right
direction?
Goals must be concrete- if abstract goal
is given, “what will you be doing
differently when you have ___?”
Goals should be observable- if client
gives non-verbal goal, “what will you be
the first sign?”

22. 3. Constructing solutions strategy
Factual past scenario- explore past
times (and present attempts) when
there were no or reduced
problems (“times of exceptions”).
Hypothetical future scenario-
when exceptions can not be
recalled and there seem to be no
present or past solutions to
capitalize upon, the next step is to
ask future-oriented questions.
Steps in Counseling

24. Steps in Counseling
4. Assignment Giving- prescribe
simple tasks reinforcing helpful
behaviors.
5. Termination- clients are asked to
share their progress as they relate
to their goals.

26. Strong Points of SFBT
Fits in nicely with managed care and the
pressure to provide effective counseling in
a briefer time frame.
Emphasizes the positive attributes of the
clients.
SFBT has been found clinically to be helpful
in treatment programs in the U.S. for
adolescent and adult outpatients (Pichot &
Dolan, 2003), and as an adjunct to more
intensive inpatient treatment in Europe.

27. Strong Points of SFBT
SFBT is being used to treat the entire range of
clinical disorders, and is also being used in
educational and business settings.
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews of
experimental and quasi-experimental studies
indicate that SFBT is a promising intervention
for youth with externalizing behavior
problems and those with school and academic
problems, showing medium to large effect
sizes (Kim, in press; Kim & Franklin,1997).

29. Remember..
"Problem talk creates problems - Solution talk
creates solutions"
By Steve de Shazer (1940-2005)
American therapist and co-founder of the Solution Focused Therapy Model

30. References:
Fernando, D.M. (2007).Existential Theory and Solution-Focused Strategies: Integration and
Application. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 29, 3, 226-241.
http://www.sfbta.org/
http://www.ebta.nu/index.html
Brief Therapy Institute of Sydney
http://www.brieftherapysydney.com.au/
Psychnet-UK. A host of resources.
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/psychotherapy/psychotherapy_brief_solution_focused.htm
Solution-focused Therapy Bulletin Board (Click on Solution Focused Therapy link)
http://www.behavior.net
Solution Focused Therapy site with an introduction, tips, publications, and more
http://www.enabling.org/ia/sft/
Solution Talk also has links to online publications and other SF resources.
http://www.solutiontalk.ab.ca/
Solution-Focused Therapy for the Not-So-Brief Clinician article by Phillip B. Ziegler, M.A., M.F.C.C.
http://www.onlinerecovery.org/sg/solution.html
Solutions Focus. This web site offers a practical guide to solution-focused ideas for consulting,
facilitation and change in business and organizations. It is a resource for anyone interested in
applying a solutions focus approach, particularly to organizations, business and other 'non-
therapy' areas. http://www.thesolutionsfocus.com/

31. For Listening...