Elliott Connie – Solution Focused Brief Therapy: An Evidence-Based Approach to Create Rapid, Sustainable Change with Any Client

Outline

What Distinguishes SFBT From Traditional Approaches

• Key tenets, theory and evidence behind SFBT
• How important is the problem?
• Why assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning doesn’t guide treatment
• ”The details drive the change”
• The absence of symptomology v. the presence of what clients most desire
• What are the two most important words in SFBT?

Intentional Questions: The Strength Behind SFBT

• Reframe questions as invitations
• How to build questions that:
  • Lead to meaningful answers
  • Create change that sticks
  • Harness your client’s strengths and resources
  • Immediately replace resistance with buy-in
  • Keep the client engaged throughout session
• Core SFBT questions:
  • Desired Outcome: Discover what clients want to be different in their lives
  • Resource Talk: Activate the client’s strengths
  • Preferred Future: Elicit a detailed description of what the client wants
  • Scaling: Measure progress toward the desired outcomes
  • Coping Questions: Find positive resources even in difficult situations

Inside a SFBT Session: Innovative, Practical Strategies from Start to Finish

• Opening the Session
  • Why your first few interactions are crucial
  • How to elicit hope right away
  • Key questions to instantly shift the client’s perspective
• The Core of the Session
  • Working with one problem at a time
  • Strategies to build momentum toward the client’s hoped for future
  • Tolerating silence and using it as a valuable tool
  • What to do when the client is focused on problems and symptoms
  • Techniques to keep the client engaged and the session meaningful
• Closing the Session
  • Specific strategies for effective session closure
  • Increase likelihood of between-session work
• Video case examples: See each step in action!

SFBT Across Settings and Populations

• School-based SFBT
• Group therapy
• Children, adolescents and families
• Couples
• Addictions, trauma and severe mental illness
• Multicultural factors
• Ethical considerations
• Limitations of the research and potential risks