Solution Focused Brief Counseling Joann Heaney-Hunter, MS, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC North American College

Principles of Solution Focused Brief Counseling Solution focused counseling emphasizes: –Person is the expert on his or her life and will have a solution to problems (like Rogers) –Ability of person to formulate a solution Methodology: –Help someone identify what is working and encourage them to do more of it –Help someone identify what doesn’t work and encourage them to spend less time on it. –Help someone see a problem as a roadblock and not a pathology –Help person to see that small changes can foster big progress –Help person break down barriers that prevent them from living a full life

Why Solution Focused Counseling is Brief Primary aim is to set goals and help individual or family achieve them (not to delve into past, motivations, unconscious) Methodology is to help individual establish concrete, manageable goals for themselves After individual establishes goals – he or she works with a skilled helper to develop action plan – leads to immediate action/change of behavior After individual establishes goals – he or she works with a skilled helper to develop action plan – leads to immediate action/change of behavior Typically quick and effective (but some argue that changes are not necessarily transferable, and gains may be lost)

Key Tools of Solution Focused Counseling Begin with the end in mind (like Steven Covey – what’s the goal?) Look for an individual’s previous solutions to similar problems (what worked for you before?) Look for exceptions to the problematic situation (when have you experienced some success in figuring out your problems?) Focus on future rather than on past (If things were better next week, how would you know?) Compliment the person on strengths Encourage the person to do more of what’s working

Types of Questions asked in Solution Focused Counseling The Miracle Question: –If you went to sleep tonight, and woke tomorrow morning to find that a miracle had taken place and your problem was gone, how would your life be different? Ask person to describe the way life will look after the miracle, using positive language Ask person to be specific and concrete in the ways that behavior will be different after the miracle Encourage person to imagine how they begin to live the miracle rather than how it ends up (in other words, be incremental) Ask the person to be clear about who will change, where the change will happen, and when it will happen, but don’t worry about why – simply focus on action

Scale Questions –On a scale of 1-10, with one being low and 10 being extraordinarily high, how are you feeling, how confident are you that something might work, whatever the question When do you use scale questions? –To gauge a quick response –To help people track their problems –With children –With verbally impaired people –To assess feelings, motivation, hopefulness, performance –To assess how an individual feels about next small steps

Coping Questions –How have you managed to survive? –How have you managed to prevent things from becoming worse? These questions validate a person’s resiliency – good affirmation for a person

Invitation to add further information Toward the end of a session, skilled helper can ask person –“Is there anything else that you’d like me to know today?” Allow person to respond Congratulate on all that has been accomplished that day Offer a positive message based on the person’s goal