Solution Focused Brief Therapy: A guide for clients

How it can help you change your life

Introduction
This guide is a resource to help you understand what Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is about and how it can help you. Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a process that focuses creating solutions and goals rather than focusing on problems. It is also a short-term form of therapy. Typically, this type of therapy will last a minimum of four sessions and a maximum of twelve sessions.

Solution Focused Brief Therapy: History

Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg of the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee are the creators of SFBT. They discovered this form of therapy in the 1980s, so it is a more modern form of therapy. SBFT is designed to focus on awareness, goals, positive qualities and learning new skills.

How SFBT Works

If you decide to pursue SFBT with your therapist, they will go over these key points of SFBT: 1. Picture your future and focus on a realistic, positive goal. Come up with steps to meet that goal. Dont dwell on a negative event or situation. 2. During the course of therapy, discuss other solutions or goals that you may have in mind. Let you therapist know. Use a journal to keep track of your progress. 3. Talk with your therapist about what is and what isnt working for you. 4. If something isnt working for you, stop doing it. Do what does work for you. 5. Remember: you are focusing on the future, not the past. Dont get stuck on thinking about your mistakes or the would haves, should haves and could haves focus on what you can do tomorrow to make a positive change. 6. You know what solution is best for you. Once you discover that solution, come up with a goal to reach that solution. 7. Your therapist will work with you on goal setting, focusing on the positive and coming up with a practical solution.

Problems that SFBT helps with

Solution Focused Brief Therapy helps with the following problems: Depression Substance abuse Eating disorders Relationship problems Gambling addiction Traumatic experiences (sexual abuse, domestic violence, trauma from man-made/natural disasters, etc.)

*If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact your therapist or doctor immediately, or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Why SFBT is short-term

Although sessions focused on Solution Focused Brief Therapy are generally described as short-term sessions, a therapists intention should not be to focus on limiting sessions, but rather on helping their clients set goals and come up with ways to [realistically] meet those goals. Focusing on a clients goals tends to take less time using the SFBT process rather than using a traditional therapy process. In traditional therapy, the sessions focus on talking about the clients past, exploring reasons and feelings. If a therapist focuses on providing their clients with the most effective forms of treatment using SFBT, therapy time can last as long as four sessions.

The Miracle Question

Your therapist may ask you something called The Miracle Question. This question is designed to help you think of ways that will help you make positive changes for yourself and your life. This question is designed to help you think of what changes you can make to meet your desired goal(s). "Suppose tonight, while you slept, a miracle occurred. When you awake tomorrow, what would be some of the things you would notice that would tell you life had suddenly gotten better?" Once you are asked this question, think about what miracle you would like to occur. Ask yourself these three questions:
- Ipsum

1. What do I want to see change in my life for the better? 2. What type of future do I want for my loved ones and I? 3. What can I do to make this miracle happen? Your therapist will work with you finding the answers to these questions. Tip: Create a list of a new set of skills you hope to learn during therapy. Try working on these skills everyday and report your progress to your therapist.

Scaling questions
Your therapist may as a question such as: On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best case scenario and 1 being the worst case scenario, where would you be right now? This scaling technique will help you figure out where you are throughout the process. A follow-up question may be, What will you do to move up a number on the scale? This question will help you determine what you want to do to move up on your scale.

Additional resources on SFBT

If you are interested in receiving Solution Focusing Brief Therapy and believe it will help you make positive changes in your life, talk to your therapist about starting sessions for SFBT. If you need to find a therapist, here some resources:
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_search.php http://locator.apa.org/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/find-psychologists.html http://www.find-a-therapist.com/

For more information on Solution Focused Brief Therapy:

http://www.sfbta.org/ http://www.solutionfocused.net/home.html

Jessica Smith ENGL 411 Balkema