Advanced Solution-Focused
Brief Therapy
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
This product is supported by Florida Department of Children and Families
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office funding.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
Who am I?
•
•
•
•
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
AAMFT and State Supervisor
Training Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) since 1993 nationally and
internationally
• Trained by and worked with Insoo Kim Berg from 1992 until her passing in
2007
• Currently the director of the Brief Therapy Institute, Department of Family
Therapy at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale
• Adjunct professor training master’s and doctoral students in clinical
practice
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Who Are You?
• Where do you work?
• What is the focus population?
• What do you want to learn more about?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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What Needs to Happen?
• Suppose it is after 3:30 Friday afternoon and you are
thinking about the workshop that you have just
attended for the past two days. You realize that this
was perhaps one of the most useful uses of your
valuable time.
• What would have been accomplished at the
Advanced Solution Focused training?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
developed by Steve deShazer & Insoo Kim Berg
1. Focus on the client’s strengths and abilities.
2. Find out what is working and do more of it.
3. Clients have the resources for change.
4. Clients generate workable solutions.
5. Change starts small and has a ripple effect.
6. Focus on the future when the problem has been solved.
7. Focus on when the problem is not a problem.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Becoming a Solution-Focused Practitioner
• Learning the basic tools of Solution Focused Brief Therapy
is just the beginning…
• Becoming accomplished at SFBT comes with:
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Embracing a solution-focused posture
Understanding the placement of solution-focused questions
Establishing to set a context for each question
Exploring circularity: the interactive, relational aspect of each
question
– Creating a continuous flow from question to question, session
to session
– Maintaining a clear and steady focus… on the client’s focus, on
your focus
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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A Solution-Focused Way of Being
Exercise:
1. Find a partner.
2. Share an example of a time when you
demonstrated a solution-focused attitude
towards either a family member or co-worker.
a) What was it?
b) How did the “other” respond?
c) How might you define a solution-focused way of
being?
(Ellen Quick)
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Neutrality:
A Solution-Focused Way of Being
Clients are capable and resourceful
• Recognizing the importance of listening from a place of
neutrality
• Remaining curious
• Recognizing the presence of exceptions
• Collaborating to create a shared perspective and language
• Taking a not-knowing stance
• Leading from one step behind
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Activity: Maintaining Neutrality in Practice
Form a group of 3 or 4.
Together, briefly share times in your practice when it has been
a challenge to maintain a solution-focused way of being.
Considering the aspects of maintaining a neutral stance:
1.
2.
3.
Which components feel most important for staying solutionfocused when working with clients?
How did you, or might you, use solution-focused tools to a
neutral posture?
How might utilizing solution-focused attitudes make a
difference?
Ellen Quick
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Listening-Highlighting-Building
• Listen to problem saturated stories
– Stay with the client and demonstrate empathy for their challenges
– Acknowledge client’s challenges
– Train your ears to hear evidence of resources.
• Highlight positive aspects becoming curious about skills and
resources
– Focus your attention on the times the problem is not a problem
– Mark them as your reference points
• Build on identifying the resources
– “How were you able to do that?”
– “Who was a resource for you?”
– “What did you learn about yourself (or each other)?”
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Activity: Solution-Focused Listening
(Josee Lamarre in Nelson, 2005)
Person #1
Person #2
• Complain, complain,
complain… about how
difficult it was to get here
this evening, something
that happened at home or
work….whatever…
• Listen very carefully to Person
#1 without saying a word….
Mum!
• You have 5 minutes.
• Listen for 5 minutes.
• Based on what was heard,
compliment those things that
Person #1 did well.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Activity:
Focus and Circularity
• Create teams of 5.
• One person will act as the client.
• The others will act as if they are one clinician.
– The “first” clinician will ask the client a question.
– In turn, each clinician will ask the client follow-up
questions based only on the client’s previous
response.
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The Role of Hope
• “A wish or desire for something accompanied by an
expectation of or belief in obtaining it” (Dew & Bickman,
2005, p. 23)
• “What is your best hope from coming to meet with
me?”
• Client may respond from their problem story, but sf
therapists seek what they hope to change
• “So if therapy was helpful to you, what would be
different? How will you know?”
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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SFBT Hopeful Tenets
• Focus on solution-building instead of problemsolving
• Focus on client’s desired future instead of past or
current problems
• Solution behaviors currently exist for clients
• Small change leads to larger change
• Therapist conversation focuses of inviting client to
focus on solution-building rather than on diagnosis
or problem-solving.
(Chenail, Ilic, Levi-Minzi, Wilson & Garcia, 2014)
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Hope in Therapy
• Talk about preferred future
– Asking a client about the “best hopes” moves the talk
from problem talk to a future when the problem is not
longer a problem.
– “Where to instead of where from” (Iverson, 2014)
• Hope & Goals
– Developing a goal leads to an expectation of change
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Hope in Action
Therapists Hopeful Requests
• Setting solution-focused
goals
Client Hope-filled Responses
• Goals
• Exceptions
• Looking for past solutions
• Solutions
• Looking for exceptions
• Scaling
• Evaluating current status
Taken from Chenail et. al, 2014
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Hope Recognition
Therapist Hope Recognition
• Complimenting
• Nudging
• Providing Feedback
• Assigning Tasks
• Exploring Progress
Client Hope Recognition
• Sharing progress – reporting
success
• Scaling questions result
improvements
• Acknowledging solutions
and exceptions
• Building
Taken from Chenail et. al, 2014
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Hope & Expectancy
• Hope & Goals
– Developing a goal leads to an expectation of change
– Expectation of change leads to increased motivation
(Reiter, 2011)
• Expectancy is “the activating energy of hope”
(Friedman & Fanger, 1991, p. 34)
– Expectancy factors:
• Client’s impact of believing in therapy
• Instillation of hope
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Problem Talk to Solution Talk
• Languages guides the conversation
– Utilize language that creates a solution-focused conversation
• Highlight the good choices, no matter how small, the client has made.
– Reinforce that small change leads to larger change
• Incorporate the following in your conversation:
–
–
–
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Safe choices
Developing trust
Ability to create change
Hopefulness
• Use Scaling Questions
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Emphasize efforts and positive steps
Scale next steps
Focus on Exceptions
Scale other’s perspective
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Goals
• Achievable
• Concrete behavioral
terms
• Small rather than
large
• Salient to the client
• Perceived by the
client of including
their hard work
• The start of
something
• New behaviors
(rather than the
absence or cessation
of existing behavior)
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Going slow is going faster.
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Building Cooperation with Questions
• What
– Tell me in what ways your are proud of your children?
– What would you mother say if she saw what a good job you were
doing
– What would be your first step?
• Who
– Who can you count of for support?
– Who will be the first to notice?
• When
– When will be the good time to take the first step?
– What will your children say when they notice things have
changed?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Building Cooperation with Questions
• Where
– Where on the scale will you be when you decide to go back to school?
– Where will you be when you first notice a difference with you?
– Where will you be a year from now
• How
– How did you manage to take care of your children?
– How did you know it was time to quit drinking?
– How did you know this was the right thing to do?
• Other Useful Beginnings
– Anything else? What else?
– You must have a good reason to…?
(De Jong & Berg, 1998)
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Solution-Focused Questions
1. Solution-focused questions are invitations. They are an invitation for
clients to teach us how to ask them questions.
2. Solution-focused questions are custom made for each client.
3. Use the responses to the questions to develop rich descriptions to
explore their experiences. (Connie, Personal communication, 2014)
•
•
•
•
•
Exceptions
Miracle Questions
Scaling Questions
Coping Questions
Relational Questions
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The Miracle Question
de Shazer and Berg:
The Miracle Question: Suppose when you go to sleep tonight, a miracle
occurs and the problems that brought me here today are solved.
Since you are sleeping, you don’t know that a miracle has happened
and that your problem is solved.
What do you suppose you will notice different the next morning that
will tell you there has been a miracle?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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The Miracle Question:
The Preferred Future
• Clients explore a preferred future:
– What they would like to see different when the problem no longer
is a problem?
– Is the miracle doable, specific and observable?
– Is the miracle important to the client?
– Is the miracle realistic? Is it within the realm of possibility?
– Is the miracle relational?
Does the miracle lead the client to their best hopes?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Future Focus
Consider alternatives to the “Miracle Question”
to explore the preferred future.
• If you woke up tomorrow and your hopes had come true, what
would be different?
• How will you know that things are getting better?
• If you woke up in the morning and all your problems were
solved what would you be doing instead?
• What will it be like when the problem stops messing up your
life? What would you be doing differently?
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Defining a Workable Miracle
Step 1:
Consider the mission of your program and, from that perspective, what
needs to occur for the problem to be solved. Incorporate the needed
change into your miracle question.
For example, if you are working to support first time moms…
Suppose you went to sleep tonight and, while you were asleep, a miracle
occurred and the problem and the challenges with your parents is solved.
You wake up next morning and you notice the problem is solved. What
would be different?
The client/family answers the miracle question based on what she
understands to be the solution to the problem.
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Defining a Workable Miracle
Step 2:
In this example, the responses might be:
My parents would not be angry with me .OR
My mom would be more understanding and helpful. OR
I would still be able to hang out with my friends.
I will still be able to graduate from school.
The response reflects how the client would experience the solution to the
problem.
If answering the miracle question is too challenging for the client:
• The response may be , “I don’t know,”
• Consider offering an illusion of choice.
Would it be like if your parents talk nicer to you or that your mom is there when you
need her?
Your friends would be able to come over to your home or that you might have more time
in school to be with them?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Defining a Workable Miracle
Step 3:
Begin to discuss what the client can do to bring about the desired change.
Ask the client to describe these imagined changes in concrete, specific and
achievable terms.
Develop the steps to the miracle. Start with the miracle and either work your way
down to the initial step or work your way up to the miracle. Your client will guide
you.
6. _______________________
5 . _______________________
4 . _______________________
3 . _______________________.
2 . _______________________.
1 . _______________________.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Building Scales
•
“Imagine a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 meaning that you have reached your goal and 1
meaning the opposite, how close are you to reaching your goal?”
•
•
•
Where do you see your self right now?
What will tell you that you are one point closer to your goal?
Constructing a scale that is relevant to your client:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Progress
Hopefulness
Confidence
Commitment
Motivation
Safety
Coping
Joy
(BRIEF, 2009)
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Multi-Scaling Goals
Collaborative Scales
Common Goal
Student
Teacher
Parent
Child
Develop specific scales to address client’s hopes (BRIEF)
Unemployed
School drop out
Wife always drunk
Feeling deeply depressed
Children habitually disrespectful
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
Dream Job
Graduation
Always Sober
Consistently happy
Children perfect
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It’s All About Relationship
• Solution-focused conversations provide a safe place
to explore possibilities in relationship.
• Relational questions ask about the experience of
important others from the perspective of the
client(s).
• It can be very empowering for clients to perceive the
benefit for important others.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Externally Motivated Clients
• May appear resistant.
• SF does not blame the challenging or reluctant client.
“Resistance” lays blame on the client for either their
uncertainty or not be ready for the intervention.
• From the SF perspective, it is the clinician’s
responsibility to utilize the tools that will be most
useful in engaging the client.
• It is our responsibility to find ways to join with that
client and collaborate on what needs to be different.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Mandated Perspective
• Engage the client by aligning yourself from your
client’s perspective.
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What is it like to be this person?
What needs to happen to get the system out of their life?
What is their miracle?
What are the steps to getting there?
How would the change be helpful?
• Have client visualize the future when the problem is solved.
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Solution-Focused Approach
to Substance Misuse/Abuse
• SFBT is aware of the reality of substance abuse.
• This collaborative process is guided by the client.
• Interventions focus on the client’s stated goals and the steps to
achieve them.
• Clients are motivated by their development of a specific, clear
vision of life without the problem behavior.
• Focus incorporates additional life challenges that clients might
connect to their substance use and want to address during
treatment.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Approach
to Substance Abuse
• Improvement in any area of the client’s life, is likely to have a
positive effect on the substance use.
• Client identifies the necessary changes that need to occur to
improve their life.
• Client envisions a future when the problem is no longer a
problem.
• Client considers the ways these changes will affect the others
in the lives (family, school, resources etc.).
• Explore:
– What skills already exist?
– How does this client understand the own strengths and resources.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Steps to a Collaborative Stance
1. Open clients thinking of new possibilities:
– How would you like your life to be different? (miracle question)
2. Find out what the client is capable of doing towards reaching their goals.
– How have you managed to get here today and are able to talk with me about
your goals?
– Have there been times in your life when you were able to accomplish even the
tiniest of goals?
– How were you able to do that? (exceptions)
3. Support the client staying on their success track by focusing on their ability
to move forward.
– How confident are you that you can make these changes happen?
– It sounds as if you have moved from a 4 to a 5. How were you able to do that?
– (scaling)
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Focus on the Person, Not the Problem
1.
Tell me about your family. How do you like to spend your time?
2.
Who is there for you?
3.
What kind of previous treatment was most helpful to you?
4.
What is your understanding of what brought you here?
5.
Whose idea was it that you come and meet with me?
6.
What do you think they expect will come out of this meeting?
7.
What do you hope will come out of our meeting together?
8.
How will the person who suggested that we meet tell that this meeting
was useful?
(From Berg & Shafer, 2004)
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Working with Relapse
• Not an uncommon occurrence with substance misusers
– Belief client has the potential to change and have a better
future. Discuss periods between.
• So, tell me, how many days were you able to stay clean? How were
you able to do that?
• What might you family say about your ability to stay clean for even
one day?
• What would have to happen for you to be able to do it again?
• How hopeful are you that you can do it again?
• Who in your family would be the first to notice that you are on the
right track?
• Focus on the client’s ability to stop…. Not that the client
relapsed.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Sliding Doors
The Present
The
Future
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Post-Traumatic Success
• Trauma and Resilience
– The typical pattern for even the most catastrophic experiences is
resolution of symptoms and not the development of PTSD. Only a minority
of the victims will go on to develop PTSD and with the passage of time the
symptoms will resolve in approximately two-thirds of these” (MacFarlane
& Yehuda, 1996 as cited by Bannink)
• Post-traummatic Success
– “the ability to survive, recover, and persevere in the face of various
obstacles and threats”
– “coming back” to previous state
– Resilience is active
– Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me strong.”
Cited from Fredrike Bannink at http://www.medscape.com
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Coping with Trauma
• Difficult for client to recognize the times they are
getting through their challenges.
– It sounds as if you have gone through so much to even be
sitting here today, with me. How have you managed to get
here today?
• How have you been getting by?
• How do you think you have been able to do all of this?
– The goal is not to challenge your clients, but to remain
curious as to how they have managed to this point.
– Questions may help them recognize the unique skills to
cope with their difficult challenges.
– How has the client prevented things from getting worse?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Role of Resilience
• Importance on focusing on resilience, coping strategies
and competences as protective factors.
• Explore with clients the:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Importance of caring relationships
Sense of love and trust
Role of social support
Establish doable goals
Recognize the ability to reach those goals
Maintain a sense of hope towards the future
Fredrike Bannink
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Perceptions of Trauma
Past and Problem Focused
Future and Solution Focused
1.
Focusing on the trauma and the
effects of the experience
1.
Acknowledging the trauma as an
event that influenced their lives
2.
Seeing self as damaged due to
the traumatic experience
2.
Recognizing their ability to
respond to the event
3.
Expressing how they would like
their lives to be different; what
they do want
4.
Recognizing their existing coping
strategies and how they applied
them
5.
Focus on action, insight may follow
3.
Expressing what they don’t want
4.
Coping as a skill that needs to be
learned
5.
Focus on insight
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Trauma: Scaling Question
• When working with a client who has experienced a traumatic
situation, consider using a scale to establish a context for that
event.
• Use a scale to map the trauma and how the client was able to
continue on with their lives… Highlight the trauma as a point
in time during a lifetime…
Birth
Abuse
Now
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
80 years
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Questions Inspired by Fredrike Bannink
• What/who helped you survive such a difficult situation?
• What have you learned about yourself from the experience?
• Who has helped you cope?
• What tells you that you have been able to cope?
• What does it mean to you that you have survived this event?
• What is the first sign that things are getting better?
• Who in your family notices? How do they let you know?
• On a scale from 1 to 10, where were you when things were the worst?
Where are you now? What is the next step to get ½ of a point higher?
• What do you think your next steps might be?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Challenging Cases Activity
Work in pairs.
• Person #1 talks about a difficult case that he/she has worked with in the
past. This case has been successful, according to the client.
• Person #2 takes notes.
• What would the client say you did that made a difference? List 5
observations.
• How did you do that, given the concern of the client?
• What did you think about or consider that helped you?
Reverse roles and do activity again.
Discuss how similar your findings were.
Linda Metcalf
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused with Couples
• For couples that want to improve their relationship:
– Listen to the problems to understand the context.
– Move to what they would like to see different.
• Questions: To initiate a climate for positive change
–
–
–
–
How did you meet?
Tell me about your first date? What did you notice about the other during that date?
How did you know that he/she was the right one?
What do you remember most about your honeymoon?
• Solution building is a conversation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Join with both members of the couple
Direct your questions to both members
Seek details to bring memories of the past forward
Remain curious. On which aspects of their story should you focus?
Elliot Connie
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Couple’s Exercise
Developing a collaborative picture of the
couple’s preferred future:
– What are you building?
– What skills do you each need to get there?
– How will you know that your partner is working to build
your collaborative future?
– When will you know when you have reached your goal?
Elliot Connie
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The Multi-Layers of Solution-Focused Supervisor
Solution-focused supervision is isomorphic to solutionfocused therapy.
Inherent to Solution-Focused Supervision is that it is:
1. interactive.
2. from the place of mutual respect and equality.
3. trusting of the supervisee.
4. conversational, rather than directive.
Conversations encourage supervisee to respond with selfaffirmative, constructive feedback.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Perspective of Supervisees
(Insoo Kim Berg)
Until proven otherwise, we believe that supervisees:
– Want to do their job well.
– Want to be proud of the work they do.
– Want to be helpful to others.
– Need training to support their work.
– Need to manifest more solution-building skills (instead of problem
solving skills).
– Need to recognize and utilize their own resources.
– Want supervisor to treat them with respect.
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Clinical Supervision:
Focus on the Client
SF Supervisor would be curious about:
–
What were you trying to accomplish there?
–
How might that be useful?
–
What might you have done differently?
–
What do you think would be different?
–
Are there times when small parts of the solution are already
happening?
–
How committed/hopeful is your client?
–
How might this have influenced your next steps?
–
How the supervisor can be more helpful?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution Focused Questions for Supervisors
Solution-Focused questions for supervision are parallel to the questions
utilized in Solution Focused Brief Therapy.
These questions guide the session’s focus on:
•
•
•
•
what is working
goals for the intervention
assessing progress toward the goal
the next steps to reaching that goal.
Solution Focused Questions:
Exceptions
Miracle Questions
Scaling Questions
Coping Questions
Relational Questions
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Overriding Questions in SF Supervision
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What were you trying to accomplish there?
How might that be useful?
What might you have done differently?
What do you think would be different?
How might this have influenced your next steps?
(Briggs)
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Multi-Layers of Solution-Focused
Supervision in Action
• Demonstration of SF supervision with
student/clinician
• Demonstration of reflective practice between
two SF supervisors.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Group Supervision
• Build a sense of cohesion. Create an environment for workers to share
their experiences and support each other.
• Use compliments liberally, both in presence of other workers and in
private.
• Have members discuss their successful experiences.
• Share with the therapist what went well and then offer suggestions to
add to what was already done. Point out what parts of a report are
useful and then include an “add-on”.
• Scaling questions help clients and supervisees assess the situation.
This demonstrate that solutions are on a continuum.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Activity:
Let us consider:
Recall a supervisor that has influenced you in a positive way.
1. What did you like about that person as a supervisor?
2. In what ways was she/he helpful to you?
3. Consider some of the things that you learned from the
supervisor?
58
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
Reflective Practice: Mirror, Mirror…..
What do I do well?
What can I do better?
On a scale from to 10, 10 being the best supervisor ever and 1 being the
opposite, where am I today? _____
What do I have to do to be one point higher?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Play Therapy
• The play therapy tools and questions should be
based on the child’s developmental level.
• Children’s creative and playful habits facilitate
successful therapy when SFBT play therapy
strategies are utilized.
• Consider integrating the expressive play therapy
strategies of drawing, sand trays, and puppets
into the SFBT model.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Solution-Focused Play Therapy
• The Miracle Question:
– Ask the child to wave a magic wand and to imagine that
the problems is solved.
– Ask the child to draw their miracle.
– Use the sand tray and/or puppets to act out their miracle.
• Scaling
– Use a strip of paper with 10 faces or with numbers from
the range from very sad (1) to very happy (10).
– Have the child scale based on the visual representations
– Utilize the sand tray and puppets to assist children in
scaling.
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Solution-Focused Play Therapy
• Exceptions:
– Ask the child to draw or act out the times when pieces of the
miracle have already happened.
– For example, have a child use a puppet to demonstrate how
they were able to remain calm when they had to do their
schoolwork.
• Coping Questions
– In times of crisis or when things have gotten worse
utilize play therapy tools to assist the child in
demonstrating their coping strategies.
• How were you so strong?
• Who helped you?
• How were you able to know when you were safe?
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
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Magic Square
(Korman in Nelson, 2005)
Problem Box
Solution Box
Resources
Scale
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Positive Planning Guide
The Dream
Steps
What’s
working?
How can I
do more of
that?
(Anne Rambo)
What’s not
working?
What can I
try that is
different?
Resources
Describe
What does it
look like?
What does it
feel like?
What does it
sound like?
What will I
hear?
What will I
be doing?
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Reframing Activity
Behavior (Action)
Description (Reaction)
Rebellions
Defiant
New Actions: New Tasks
Task for a strong-willed
child
Reframe: Positive Description
Strong willed
Linda Metcalf
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Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
WOWW: Working On What Works
• Developed by Insoo Kim Berg and Lee Shilts as a solutionfocused classroom management program in 2003.
• In the beginning: New River Middle School in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida
• WOWW schools are currently worldwide
• Solution-focused classrooms
– Compliments and more compliments:
• Record what students are doing well in class
• Sharing with the teacher and students what they are doing
well.
Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D., LMFT
66
WOWW: Working On What Works
• Solution-focused Classrooms
– Success Scales: Scaling daily to determine what number on a
scale from 1 to 10 (perfect), the students would like to achieve
that day.
• Students and teacher collaborate of what that number means in terms
of behaviors and accomplishments
• During the day, teachers and students are reminded of the number
and goals for that day.
– Negotiating Good Goals
•
•
•
•
Teachers and students collaborate to work towards goals
Teachers ask questions which shape the answers
Goals are realistic, doable
“Goals describe a presence of solutions, not an absence of problems.”
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67
Solution-Focused Schools
• Garza Independence High School in Austin, Texas:
A Solution-focused High School
– http://garzaindependencehs.weebly.com/
• The School of Merit Primary School in South
Africa
– “What We Can Do” School
– Each class determines what they want to do during
year. Students have individual goals.
– Problem diagnosis becomes Solution diagnosis
– Scaling exercise: “What we can do together”.
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References
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Bannink, Fredrike
http://www.fredrikebannink.com/bannink/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Posttraumatic_success.pdf
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/581215
Berg, I. K. (1994). Family-based services: A solution-focused approach. New York: W. W. Norton.
Berg, I. K., & Kelly, S. (2000). Building solutions in child protective services. New York: W. W. Norton.
Berg, I.K. & Shilts, L. (2005). Classroom solutions: WOWW coaching. BFTC Press. (SFBTA.org)
Chenail, R., Illic, D., Levi-Minzi, M.A., Wilson, J. & Garcia, S.Y. (February 8, 2014). Focusing on Focus in Solution-Focused Brief
Therapy. Presented at the Solution-Focused Expo in Orlando, FL.
Connie, E. (2013). The solution focused marriage. The Connie Institute,
George, E., Iveson, C., Ratner, H., & Shennan, G. (2009). BRIEFER: A solution focused practice manual.
www.brieftherapy.org.uk
Lund, L., Zimmerman, T.S., & Haddock, S. (2002). The theory, structure, and techniques for the inclusion of children in family
therapy: A literature review. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 28, 445-454.
Lund, L., Zimmerman, T.S., & Haddock, S. (2002). The theory, structure, and techniques for the inclusion of children in family
therapy: A literature review. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 28, 445-454.
Nelson, T.S. (Ed.). (2005) Education and training in Solution Focused Brief Therapy. Binghamton, NY: Hawthorn Press.
Nims, D.R. (2007). Integrating play therapy techniques into Solution-focused brief therapy. International Journal of Play
Therapy, 16(1), 54-68
Quick, E. (2011). Solution-focused attitudes. file:///C:/Users/arlenebg/Downloads/sf_attitudes.pdf
Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (2006). Solution focused therapy treatment manual for working with individuals.
www.sfbta.org
Straussner, S.L.A. (Eds.) (2004) Clinical work with substance-abusing clients. Berg & Shafer, Working with mandated
substance abusers: Language of solutions. p. 82-103. New York: Hawthorn Press..
Tayler, E.R. (2009). Sandtray and Solution-Focused Therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy,18, 56-68.
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