SFBT Misc.

Tohn, S.L., & Oshiag, J.A. (1996). Solution-focused therapy with mandated clients: Cooperating with the uncooperative. In Miller, S.D., Hubble, M.A., & Duncan, B.L. (Eds.), Handbook of solution-focused brief therapy (pp. 128-151). San Francison: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

We will not be effective if we try to get clients to work on goals that are not their own (154-155). Rather, we must first “explore the client’s goals for treatment.” Start by asking clients “how they feel, who sent them, and who believes they need to change,” not asking what their problem is. If the therapist “shows genuine interest in a client’s view of the situation, the client will begin to tell even those details that he or she knows may not be popular” (155). 

Ask what the referring party hopes will result from counseling >> then ask about the client’s goal >> then work with his goal.

T: So it was not your idea to come?

C: No way, no offense. I don’t think I need this. I don’t beat my wife. She took out a restraining order this weekend after we had a fight.

T: Okay.

C: She said she was scared of me. That’s crap.

T: So what do you think your wife hopes will happen in therapy? [asking about her goals]

C: She wants me to control my anger, not yell so much, I guess. (155)

T: What do you want? [asking about his goals]

C: I want to get back into my house. I work really hard to support her, and this is what I get.

T: What will need to happen for you to be able to go back to your house? [accepting his goal to get back to his house]

C: I guess my wife will have to drop the restraining order…

T: [later] So, you mentioned you wanted to get back into your house. What do you think your wife would say would need to be different for her to drop the restraining order so you could go home?

C: I have to learn to control my anger and just take a walk when I get that angry (156)

The miracle question. Say: “The miracle is that the problems that brought you here today are solved,” not “Your problems are solved.” If you say the latter, they will tend to provide “grandiose” answers, e.g., “I’ll win the lottery, have a bigger house, etc.” (170-171).

When client thinks others are the problem >> can use the miracle question to “shift the clients away from the problem and to begin to define some goals” >> therapist does this while “continuing to cooperate w/ each person’s view of the world” (172):

T: ...You wake up and the problems that brought you here today are solved. What will you notice that is different:

C: Maye Joe would be nicer to me.

T: What would Joe be doing differently to let you know he is being nicer to you?

C: Not hurting me.

T: Yes, and what else?

C: When I tell Joe how to do something, he will listen to me. He never listens to what I have to say.

T: So, when Joe is listening to you, and not hurting you, what do you think he will notice you doing differently?

C: Maybe I wouldn’t bug him so much. (173)

* * * * *

Scaling: Clients rate their problems 3, 1, and 2.

Therapist: “So, if you are at a three, one, and two, what would each of you say would be a small sign to you that things were just a little better, say half a point higher for each of you?”

Client: “Hmm…”

T: “Diane, what would need to happen for you to be able to say you were a 1.5?”

C: They would just stop fighting.

T: That sounds a little higher than a 1.5. That sounds like a 15. [Therapist wants to encourage client to make small, manageable goals.]

C: Maybe if they just stopped hitting each other. I got really scared the other day. They could have killed each other.

T: What would be a sign to you that they were beginning to stop the hitting? What would they be doing instead? (174).

Language must convey the therapist’s belief “that change will happen, and all involved must be on the lookout,” e.g., “So, what would be a small sign to you that this is beginning to happen?” (175).

Brasher, K.L. (2009). Solution-focused brief therapy: Overview and implications for school counselors. The Alabama Counseling Association Journal, 34(2), 20-30

The key philosophy: “clients already hold the key to their solutions...Thus, the counselor’s role is to help clients recognize the key to their solutions comes from the inner strengths they have previously used to survive their problems” (22).

SFBT asks clients five basic questions:

1. Coping questions: “questions that help clients focus on what they have done so far to survive difficult situations.” Gets “their minds off of failure and puts the attention on what has worked for them.” “What have you found helpful so far?” (23).
2. Exceptions: “times when a client functioned better or times when a problem was not as severe,” e.g., “Have there been times when the problem did not happen or was less severe” (23).
3. Miracle question: “encourages goal setting in that the answer to the question helps clients identify changes that they desire to occur. The answer also forces clients to focus on a positive future and moves the focus away from current and past problems” (23).
4. Scaling question: “used to measure the effects of a problem on a person’s life” (23).
5. Development questions: “aids clients in setting small, specific goals that can be achieved and that will allow them to see that new behaviors will help them solve future problems.” “This strategy, in turn, may enable clients to manage their lives in achievable measures rather than believing they must achieve 100% success immediately. Thus, using small steps to achieve success allows the formation of a stable foundation upon which to build success” (24).

* * * * * 

Campbell, J., Elder, J., Gallagher, D., Simon, J., & Taylor, A. (1999). Crafting the "tap on the shoulder:" A compliment template for solution-focused therapy. The American Journal of FAmily Therapy, 27(1), 35-47.

Compliments “are important therapeutic tools that help people build solutions” in SFBT (35). This article talks about those compliments the therapist gives after the break (36). 

1) Normalizing statements — Many come to therapy believing that their problems are unique, and they find it helpful “realizing that they [are] not ‘crazy’” (36). Example: “it makes sense for you to be feeling the way you’ve been feeling...You’ve been through a lot” (37), “No wonder you were depressed. And no wonder you were feeling the way you were feeling. Here you went away from your old neighborhood, from things that were familiar to you, from your father whom you love…” (38).

2) Restructuring statements — “Many clients defined the problem in ways that limit solutions” >> restructuring statements help help reframe thinking. Example: Client says they’re stuck; therapist says, “It seems to the team that you’re going through a period of transition in your life and of course you want to take your time b/f you make a decision” (38), “The team thinks that you’ve gotten off track and now you’re trying to figure out how to get back on track” (38-39). 

3) Affirmations — “drawing the client’s attention to how personal and social resources can be utilized to develop solutions” (40). This is just complimenting, telling client, for example, that you’re really impressed that she’s managed to do X.

4) Bridging statements — bridges b/t what you’ve discussed and “the suggested next steps” (41). 

5) Suggestions — i.e., homework assignments