Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) with individuals with brain injury and their families.

Abstract

Brain injury is considered a chronic condition and the medical model has long been the traditional paradigm underlying rehabilitation programs for people after acquired brain injury (ABI). In recent years, strengths-based approaches have been increasingly proposed, but little has been written about specific psychotherapeutic application in ABI rehabilitation. To describe a strengths-based model, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and its clinical application to individuals with ABI and their families. The author describes the assumptions, tenets, and principles of SFBT, a competency-based and resource-based model that orients to the future and focuses on strengths and successes. A direct comparison is made between the traditional medical paradigm and the solution-focused paradigm. Key ingredients of SFBT are described, including specific strategies, techniques, and its clinical application with individuals with ABI and their families. Limitations around using SFBT and the need for further research with ABI populations are reported. SFBT is a welcome shift away from the problem-saturated stories that underlie traditional rehabilitation approaches. The strengths-based underpinning of SFBT is a promising psychotherapeutic intervention that merits further investigation with ABI populations.