SOLUTION-FOCUSED

BRIEF THERAPY
(SFBT)

Psychotherap
y Class
Outlined by:
Ma. Rizza
Aquino

BASIC INFORMATION ON SFBT

Developers

Steve de Shazer

Insoo Kim Berg

BASIC INFORMATION ON SFBT

Main Features

HOW DOES SFBT WORK?

Aim: help people who are experiencing diffi culty fi nd
tools that they can use immediately to manage
symptoms and cope with challenges
Belief: People may already have the skills to create
and eff ect change, but they need help in identifying
and developing those skills.
What SFBT Therapists do: 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
Recognize what
works

Explore best ways to

continue those
strategies

Encourage to
acknowledge and
celebrate success

TECHNIQUES USED BY SFBT

THERAPISTS
Coping Questions = resiliency
How do you manage, in the face of such diffi culty, to fulfi ll
your daily obligations?

Miracle Questions = envision a future in which the

problem is
absent
"Suppose that one night, while you are asleep, there is a
miracle and the problem that brought you here is solved.
However, because you are asleep you don't know that the
miracle has already happened. When you wake up in the
morning, what will be diff erent that will tell you that the
miracle has taken place? What else?

Scaling Questions = assess present circumstances

or progress
On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is the worst it's ever been
and 10 is after the miracle has happened, where are you

TECHNIQUES USED BY SFBT

THERAPISTS
Look for previous solutions
Are there times when this has been less of a problem? or
What did you (or others) do that was helpful?

Look for exceptions

What is diff erent about the times when this is less of a
problem?

Present and future-focused questions vs. pastoriented focus

What will you be doing in the next week that would
indicate to you that you are continuing to make progress?

Compliments
How did you do that?

QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE USED IN

SFBT
Building on the miracle question :

What diff erence would you (& others) notice?

What are the fi rst things you notice?
Has any of this ever happened before?
Would it help to recreate any of these miracles?
What would need to happen to do this?
What else?

http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/sft.htm

QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE USED IN

SFBT
Exception Questions
Has anything been better since the last appointment? What's
changed? What's better?
Can you think of a time in the past (month/year/ever) that
you did not have this problem?
What would have to happen for that to occur more often?
When doesn't the problem happen?
What's diff erent about those times?
What are you doing or thinking diff erently during those better
times?
When have you been able to stop doing....?
Are there times when you expect to...but you remember
something that helps you calm down?
What else?
http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/sft.htm

QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE USED IN

SFBT
Coping Questions
How do you cope with these diffi culties?
What keeps you going?
Who is your greatest support?
What do they do that is helpful?
What do you do that stops the problem getting worse?
When you've had this problem before, what helped you get
through then?
How did you manage to solve the problem?
What advice would you give to someone else who has this
problem?
What else?

http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/sft.htm

QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE USED IN

SFBT
Scaling questions
On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is the worst it's ever been and
10 is after the miracle has happened, where are you now?
Where do you need to be?
What will help you move up one point?
How can you keep yourself at that point?
What would be the fi rst sign that you had moved on one
point further?
Who would be the fi rst person to notice you've moved one
point up? What would they notice?
What else?

http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/sft.htm

LIMITATIONS AND CONCERNS OF

SFBT
Its quick,goal-oriented nature may not allow
therapists the necessary time to empathize with what
people in treatment are experiencing. As such, those
in therapy may feel misunderstood if the therapist is
not meeting them on their emotional level.
SFBT seems to simply discard or ignore information
deemed important by other treatment modalities. For
example, in this type of therapy a relationship
between the adverse issues people face and the
changes necessary to foster improvement is not
assumed, and any underlying reasons for maladaptive
thoughts and/or behaviors are not explored in a
typical SFBT session.

REFERENCES:
http://www.solutionfocused.net/what-is-solution-focus
ed-therapy
/
http://
www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/solut
ion-focused-therapy
http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/sft.htm