Brief therapy approaches, which “challenge the idea that enduring change must come through long and laborious interventions” (Slive & Bobele, 2011b, p.12), have evolved tremendously over the last few decades. As a form of brief therapy, SFBT is an approach-
based on solution-building rather than problem-solving. Very little focus is given to diagnosis, previous assessment, background, or exploring the emergence of the problem (Corey, 2013). The key focus is on a person’s present and future circumstances. SFBT is centered around the idea that a few sessions or even a single session can bring about tremendous changes in the client’s life.
The strength of SFBT is in its brevity. The process includes pre-session change question. Goal setting, planning and evaluation are done through miracle question (allowing the client to imagine a future in which their problems are no longer affecting his lives.) Exception question is asked to find out the times when the problem is not actively affecting the individual). The coping question helps the client recognize his/her resilience. The scaling question is related to the confidence/willingness scale of 1-10 questions. This form of goal-oriented therapy involves first developing a vision of one’s future and then determining how internal abilities can be enhanced in order to attain the desired outcome.
When the client (considered as an expert) focuses on his own strengths rather than the problem, they are empowered to fix their own problem, instead of relying on the therapist. SFBT works well for clients who prefer a fast, logical and direct approach. The sequence of questions depends on the flow of conversation with the client. And language itself becomes the tool and the counsellor relies on the client’s imagination, strengths and resources, past experiences, coping mechanisms and evaluation to build a positive future.
SFBT (De, Shazer, 2012) is an evidence-based brief therapy that demonstrates a client’s positive, goal-oriented approach to treatment. The approach is focused on skill-building rather than compliance. SFBT proposes optimistic assumptions that people are healthy, competent, and have the ability to construct solutions that can enhance their lives, and resolve the challenges they are facing (Corey, 2011 ,2013).
References:
Corey, G. (2011, 2013). Theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy. Cengage learning.
De Shazer, S., & Dolan, Y. (2012). More than miracles: The state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy. Slive, A., & Bobele, M. (Eds.). (2011). When one hour is all you have: Effective therapy for walk-in clients. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker & Theisen.
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