Solution-Focused Therapy

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), also called Solution-Focused Therapy is future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems that brought clients to seek therapy.

From Institute for Solution-Focused Therapy:

Since that early development, SFBT has not only become one of the leading schools of brief therapy, it has become a major influence in such diverse fields as business, social policy, education, and criminal justice services, child welfare, domestic violence offenders treatment. Described as a practical, goal-driven model, a hallmark of SFBT is its emphasis on clear, concise, realistic goal negotiations. The SFBT approach assumes that all clients have some knowledge of what would make their life better, even though they may need some (at times, considerable) help describing the details of their better life and that everyone who seeks help already possesses at least the minimal skills necessary to create solutions.

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How Does Solution-Focused Therapy Work?

According to GoodTherapy.org:

SFBT, which aims to help people experiencing difficulty find tools they can use immediately to manage symptoms and cope with challenges, is grounded in the belief that although individuals may already have the skills to create change in their lives, they often need help identifying and developing those skills. Similarly, SFBT recognizes that people already know, on some level, what change is needed in their lives, and SFBT practitioners work to help the people in their care clarify their goals. Practitioners of SFBT encourage individuals to imagine the future they desire and then work to collaboratively develop a series of steps that will help them achieve those goals. In particular, therapists can help those in treatment identify a time in life when a current issue was either less detrimental or more manageable and evaluate what factors were different or what solutions may have been present in the past.

This form of 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. Therapists who practice SFBT attempt to guide people in therapy through the process of recognizing what is working for them, help them explore how best to continue practicing those strategies, and encourage them to acknowledge and celebrate success. In addition, practitioners of SFBT support people in therapy as they experiment with new problem-solving approaches.

Therapists & Psychiatrists Specializing in Solution-Focused Therapy