HiPlease edit the slides as you see fit. Also,

let me know if you want a different format. I am going back to SC this

weekend to see my father in law in the hospital. If we don’t make it back in time Monday, please let me know if you would be able to meet another time. I will be in class Wednesday by 5pm so I can get the

ppt. ready. I will also print these forms as handouts for the class. If you have

anything else you need me to do, let me know

Solution Focused Therapy

Group Project presented by Kyle McNair, Linda Ellison and Lesley Smith

Course: Working with Families February 10, 2012

• SFT was a front runner of the adoption of the social constructivist thinking that became prominent in the late 1980s and early 1990s.pg.177

Roots and Development of Solution Focused Theory (SFT)

• Most of the innovators of SFT came from the Brief Therapy Center(BFTC) in Milwaukee in the late 1970s. Pg. 177

• It offers a bridge between strategic theories and language theories. pg.177

Steve deShazer and Insoo Berg

• Married couple credited with being the primary developers of SFT. Pg.177

• Berg trained most of the current leaders of SFT and is an advocate of its use with alcoholics. pg.177

Steve deShazer Insoo Berg

Eve Lipchik

Picture: http://www.icfconsultants.com/lipchik.htm

• Developed a controversial model for working with domestic violence

• Contrary to to most therapy models, Lipchik invited the batterer in conjoint sessions

Pg.177

• Clinician affiliated with BFTC

Michelle Weiner-Davis

• Known for including the following phrase in therapy: “Do a one-eighty” pg.177

• If what a person is doing is not working, then he or she is advised to do the opposite. Pg.178

• Her book, Divorce Busting is addressed to couples. Pg. 177

Picture: http://www.sideroad.com/images

/michele_davis.jpg

Bill O’Hanlon

• Uses language that matches the client’s language ex: Client- “I see him failing.” Therapist- “ It looks bleak to you.”

• Hypnotist that combined the ideas of his teacher, Hypnotist Milton Erickson with the SFT.

Pg. 178

• Ideas based on the phenomenon,Naturalistic Trance

Naturalistic Trance

• O’Hanlon uses the following monologue with clients who come to him complaining about being depressed:

If I were going to do a real depression, I would reduce the amount of stimulation from the environment and from inside myself. I would go to my bedroom, pull the shades , and stay under the covers… It would be essential to avoid anything that made me breathe deeply or move physically, because it is difficult to maintain a good depression that way. I would dwell on the past and all the things I should or shouldn’t have done. I would compare myself with other people and lose by the comparison. I would think I had always felt this way and would always feel this way in the future.(O’Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989,pg.98) pg. 186

• Clients are captivated by this kind of monologue. They are “entranced.” They experience what is described by the term, naturalistic trance. Most people begin to

recognized theyt are using repeated actions, behavioral patterns for doing their depression, and tbhey see there are choices-they can choose to act differently to change

those patterns that have been maintaining their depression. pg. 186

Solution Focused Therapy (SFT)• Focuses on solutions rather than on the

problems that brought clients to seek therapy.

• To help clients see these potential solutions, therapists may ask, “Are there times when this has been less of a problem?” or “What did you ( or others) do that was helpful

• SF therapists have learned that most people have previously solved many, problems and probably have some ideas of how to solve the current problem.

(1)

• After these questions, clients visibly change in their demeanor and some even break out in smiles as a they describe their solutions. The next step is to identify the most recent times when the client has had small pieces of miracles (called exceptions) and get them to repeat these forgotten experiences.

SFT Therapist Optimistic Approach to Therapy

Pg. 178

• Starts session by discussing anything that is not related to the client’s issues, (weather, job, school etc..).

• Confrontations or disagreements are avoided. The therapist shows non-judgemental interest in helping clients feel comfortable being there.

• Asks a series of questions designed to retrieve exceptions to the client’s problem.

Exceptions: times when things progress smoothly.

• SF therapists looks for past solutions clients have tried that have worked-what they have done in in the past that was successful. They also listen for strengths and resources in their clients that they can build on(O’Hanlon & Weiner-Davis, 1989)

• The initial goal is to change the language in the session from problem talk to solution

talk.

SFT Therapist Optimistic Approach to Therapy (cont)

• Solution-focused therapy is pragmatic, cognitive, and easily teachable.

• It emphasizes brevity and a non-pathological view of people.

• Therapy sessions can include one or more persons.

• It projects optimism, uses praise of people’s strengths and accomplishments, and refers to the past only to search for exceptions.

Pg.178

Problems Maintained By “More Of The Same”

• Solution-focused therapy pays little attention to the intricacies of family dynamics and is oriented toward seeking future solutions.

• SF therapists assert that when people are stuck in their complaint, they are constrained by narrow, pessimistic views of their problem and keep trying to fix it by doing “more of the same”. People are seen as stuck in rigid repetitive patterns of thinking and behavior that maintain the problem (pg. 179 Par1).

• They believe that the way a problem is approached affects the outcome of the therapy. They seek possibilities for and strengths in, the client.

• “Language constitutes the human world and the human world constitutes the whole world”(deShazer & Berg, 1989). If nothing exists outside of language, deShazer asserts, “There are no wet beds, talk about voices without people, talk about depressions……….If one accepts that lanuage is reality, therapy becomes a relatively simple procedure. All that’s needed to change is the talk.

Pg.179

Basic Questions For the Solution-Focused Therapist

• SF therapists ask themselves questions when first meeting the clients:

• “Who is the customer?” They note which person is open to and eager for change.

• “Who is the complainant?” This is the person who usually focuses on the problem and perceives it as

something someone else needs to fix.

• “Who is the visitor?” This is generally a family member who was invited to come along to the session but is not invested in either the problem or the possibility of change.

Pg.179

• “What are the client’s goals and how will they and the therapist know when their goals have been achieved.” (pg.180)

http://www.psychotherapy.net/data/uploads/4c6522b7d1927.mp4

Example of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) Conducted by Insoo Berg

In this clip, Berg demonstrates the SFBT she used in marriage counseling

Mainstays Of The Solution-Focused Approach• SF therapists created certain formula tasks that can be offered

regardless of the content of the described complaint. (pg.180)

• One such task is offered at the very first session: Between now and the next time we meet, I would like you to observe, so that you can describe to me next time, what happens in your (pick one: family, life, marriage, or relationship) that you want to continue to have happen

(deShazer, 1985,pg.137)

• This task directs clients’ attention into a positive frame that enables them to realize there is good in their lives. (pg.180, par 3)

Mainstays of Solution-Focused Approach • deShazer’s group developed presuppositional questions that may

be considered as the mainstays of the solution focused approach and can be used effectively with most presenting problems.

• The Miracle Question “ Suppose one night while you were asleep, there was a miracle and this problem were solved. How would you know? What will be different?” (pg.180)

• It appears that the mere act of constructing a vision of the solution acts as a catalyst for bringing it about. Through the use of the word will there is the implication that a solution is imminent. (pg. 180)

Mainstays of Solution-Focused Approach • The Exception Question “Tell me about those times in the past or present when you didn’t have the problem, or when it wasn’t so bad. What was different about those times? What were you doing differently?

• Therapists keep encouraging clients to expand on those differences, those exceptions, times when the problem was more manageable or troublesome.

• They use compliments for anything they note as helpful toward the described goal. They call attention to the smallest changes and ask clients how they managed to make it happen.

• They are careful with their use of language , using past tense when referring to a problem, using “will” instead of would,” and interject everyday language rather than psychobabble.

• Therapists check out progress by asking scaling questions,” On a scale from one to five how different are you feeling about ____ now?”

Presuppositional Questions

• Designed to influence the clients’ perceptions in the direction of solutions, through the careful use of solution language.

. Is open-ended, and avoids a “yes or no” answer.

. Are designed to bring out information about exceptions .

Pg. 182

Pg. 182

Pg. 182

Examples of these questions are found on pg.183-184.

Normalizing the Client’s Story

. SF therapists normalize everyday stressors. They may say,”That’s understandable,” or “So what else is new?”. Normalizing comments have a calming effect. From the clients point of view, the difficulty as normal means maybe it’s not as bad or unsolvable as it seems to the client.

Discussion More to Come

• SFT Therapists assigns formula tasks for married couples to try at home.

Summary• SFT is factual, cognitive, and easily teachable.

• It is clear, concise and obtains an optimistic view of people.

• Refers to the past only to gain insight on exceptions to the problem

• Therapist praises the client’s accomplishments and strengths

1. Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy http://www.solutionfocused.net/home.html

Website References