1. SFBT with Children and Youth: Creative Settings, Strategies and Techniques Jeff Chang Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology Athabasca University Conference on Solution-Focused Practice November 3, 2007

2. Five Key Tasks I.Develop and maintain a "cooperative relationship.“ II.Understand the clients’ strengths and worldview. III.Construct and deconstruct the problem so it is solvable.

3. Five Key Tasks IV. Find, elicit, or create meaningful experiences of difference –within sessions (interview/language skills) –between sessions (end of session interventions) V. Amplify, anchor, and maintain these new experiences.

4. Develop and maintain a "cooperative relationship." Children don’t decide when therapy begins and ends – carefully develop relationships with the “deciders” All children's therapy is systemic therapy Consider: –who is concerned, alarmed, or involved with the problem? –And how? – relationship patterns Play with kids before you work with them

5. Develop and maintain a "cooperative relationship." with adolescents, emphasize that everyone has different views of the problem, and that it is likely that it wasn't their idea to come to your office spend lots of time engaging socially with everyone, especially if the family is polarized over adolescent conflict

6. Understand the client's strengths and worldview. what are the parents' beliefs about this problem? and about parenting? what is the child good at? How did he/she get that way?

7. Construct and deconstruct the problem so it is solvable Who is the “solution-determining system”? A difference that makes a difference to WHOM???

8. Construct and deconstruct the problem so it is solvable find out what he/she is motivated for –are there future goals that will be compromised by the continuing presence of the problem? –maybe getting parents/teachers off their back is enough motivation

9. Construct and deconstruct the problem so it is solvable beware of clashing problem definitions/beliefs –child vs. parent –parent vs. school –therapist vs. parent

10. Construct and deconstruct the problem so it is solvable Meeting with people separately can be useful to work with clashing problem definitions working with parents’ beliefs and letting them know you've heard them giving younger children special time giving adolescents time away from their parents consulting to teachers

11. Find, elicit, or create meaningful experiences of difference Within sessions (interview/language skills): Exception questioning –the highlight package –using drawings to elicit exceptions –scaling drawings –miracle drawings –exception/new story drawings –rehearsal in sessions

12. Find, elicit, or create meaningful experiences of difference Between sessions (end of session interventions) “a difference that makes a difference” - -consider who comprises the “solution- determining system” practicing one or two things for children observational tasks for parents and teachers bragging meetings reading a new story together

13. Amplify, anchor, and maintain these new experiences rituals and celebrations certificates and letters writing the conclusions to stories including school personnel relapse planning