Solution‐Focused Brief Therapy

Abstract

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) has been one of the most popular approaches incurrent the managed care environment because of its emphasis on a non-pathologicalview of individuals, its focus on brief treatment, and its easily teachable skills. In con-trast to traditional therapies, SFBT stresses an egalitarian relationship between the therapist and the client that truly empowers the client. It further posits that language is the primary vehicle for change, and therefore engages the client in a therapeutic conversation from the beginning of therapy to help the client to explore and constructnew meanings in his life. Because it provides a clear and concrete guideline for treat-ment, SFBT has been widely well received by clinicians (Becvar & Becvar, 2006;Cheung, 2005; Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2008; Nichols & Schwartz, 2008). The rapid increase in the number of therapists that practice SFBT is evidenced by the websites ofthe Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (www.sfbta.org) and the European BriefTherapy Association (www.ebta.nu) (see Resources below).The leading figures of SFBT were Steve de Shazer (1985, 1988, 1991, 1994) and InsooKim Berg (1994), a husband-and-wife team, who were the main proponents of this approachfrom the mid-1980s. They co-founded the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, where they researched and developed SFBT and trained manynational and international clinicians in this approach. Unfortunately de Shazer passedaway in September, 2005, and Berg in January, 2007. Other proponents and prolific writers of SFBT include Scott Miller (1994), Michele Weiner-Davis (1993), Eve Lipchik (1993, 2002), and Bill O’Hanlon (1993a, 1993b). The first three individuals were attime or another affiliated with one the BFTC. Scott Miller continues to direct alcoholand drug treatment there and practices in Chicago. Michele Weiner-Davis, after leavingthe BFTC, continues to practice SFBT in Woodstock, Illinois. Eve Lipchik has dis-cussed and advocated the importance of affect in SFBT and continues to practice in Milwaukee. Bill O’Hanlon, who co-authored with Michele Weiner-Davis an influentialCheung, S. (2009). Solution-focused brief therapy. In J. Bray & M. Stanton (Eds.), Handbook of family psychology (pp. 212-225). West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers