Solution-focused Thinking Research Articles

How does coach training change coaches-in-training? Differential effects for novice vs. experienced ‘skilled helpers’

ABSTRACT Coaches are essentially in the business of facilitating change in others. Yet little is known about the changes that trainee coaches themselves go through as they learn coaching skills and theory. This study identifies some of the key inter- and intra-personal attributes that developed over a nine-month programme of coach-specific training, while comparing differences in impact on trainee coaches who have prior working experience as a therapist with those without therapist experience. The group as a whole had significant increases in satisfaction with life, mindfulness, solution-focused thinking, self-insight, and a need for self-reflection. The training had less impact in terms of inter- and intra-personal skills on experienced therapists than the non-therapists. Nevertheless, coach training is beneficial even for those with prior experience in working as a therapist. This study suggests that coach training typically induces a wide range of personal changes and development that are impactful on a deep personal level. Although therapists already have many of the so-called soft skills required in coaching, those from a therapeutic background still benefit considerably from coach training. One key area highlighted in this study is the need for those coming from a therapeutic background to increase their skills in problem disengagement.

Social support as a predictive factor: Solution-focused thinking in clinical social work

In recent years, clinical social workers have tended to use the solution-focused approach in their practice. This study examines the relationship of solution-focused thinking and its components (Goal Orientation, Resource Activation, and Problem Disengagement), with the following variables: social support, income, occupation, gender, tribal affiliation, and education. The study used a sample of 300 participants in Kuwait. The results showed that a significant relationship exists between solution-focused thinking and the variables of income, occupation, gender, tribal affiliation, and education. In addition, the findings of this study showed that social support is a predictive factor for solution-focused thinking. The results of the study could assist clinical social workers in improving the quality of intervention they provide to clients.

해결중심적 사고가 중년기혼여성의 역할적응과 삶의 만족도에 미치는 영향: 긍정정서의 매개효과 검증

해결중심적 사고가 중년기혼여성의 역할적응과 삶의 만족도에 미치는 영향: 긍정정서의 매개효과 검증

The impact of leadership coaching in an Australian healthcare setting

PurposeThere is limited empirical literature on the effectiveness of leadership coaching in healthcare settings. The purpose of this paper is to explore the efficacy of leadership coaching for individuals implementing strategic change in the Australian public health system.Design/methodology/approachUsing a within-subjects (pre-post) design, participants (n=31) undertook six one-hour coaching sessions. Coaching was conducted by professional leadership coaches. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.FindingsParticipation was associated with significant improvements in goal attainment, solution-focused thinking, leadership self-efficacy, perspective-taking capacity, self-insight and resilience, and ambiguity tolerance. There were significant reductions in stress and anxiety. The benefits of coaching transferred from the workplace to the home. Many participants reported being able to use insights gained in coaching in their personal lives, and reported better work/life balance, less stress and better quality relationships at home.Originality/valueFew studies have provided evaluation of leadership coaching in healthcare setting. Leadership coaching in the public health system may be an important methodology for facilitating goal attainment and fostering resilience in this vital social sector, benefiting workers in the health services, their families and ultimately their patients and the broader community.

Spanish adaptation of the Solution-Focused Inventory (SFI)

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Solution-Focused Inventory (SFI) in a Spanish population, replicating the original validation study of Grant et al. (2012). The SFI, designed to evaluate solution-focused thinking, is a 12-item scale with three subscales: Problem Disengagement, Goal Orientation and Resource Activation. The instrument was adapted and translated into Spanish, then two studies were carried out to examine its psychometric properties. The first study confirmed the instrument´s structure, and its good internal consistency. The second study confirmed its convergent validity; SFI was positively correlated with measures of well-being, resilience, satisfaction with life and perspective taking, and negatively correlated with psychopathology. This second study confirmed the stability of the SFI scores across time. In sum, these two studies provide additional support for the reliability and validity of the SFI as a measure of solution-focused thinking, and open its use to Spanish-speaking populations.

"Designerly" Ways of Reading: Insights From Reader Response in Drama for Enriching the "A" in Language Arts

In this interpretive case study of reader response in drama, a drama troupe is the context for illuminating how young actors read in "designerly" ways; that is, how their reading processes facilitated constructive, solution-focused thinking in their development of characterizations. By examining the nature of reader response in the drama troupe, I hope to help educators understand how design thinking occurred as an aesthetic reading practice and consider ways in which design thinking can be cultivated in the language arts classroom. I argue that design thinking inspires the young to engage the imagination, practice teamwork, and take risks as they work to make their visions real. Perhaps most importantly, I contend that design thinking can help prepare the young for facing complex and highly ambiguous problems characteristic of 21st century participatory cultures.

The Situations Focused Model: A Map of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy used as an Open Systems Approach With Clients and in Human Services

In this article, I describe the situations focused model, an open systems model that aims to help the practitioner to position solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) in the context of other sources of useful professional knowledge and to be most useful in face of the complexity of clients’ needs in human services. The model facilitates the utilization of all potential resources and perspectives available in every situation. The situations focused model proposes a perspective of “both/and” instead of “either/or” in some key areas of solution-focused thinking. This article also addresses a tendency in parts of the SFBT writings, teachings, and practice to think in three types of dichotomies: 1) the SFBT approach versus other therapeutic approaches and bases of knowledge, 2) solutions versus problems, and 3) the client’s expertise versus practitioner’s expertise. This article proposes that treating these dichotomies as real areas of conflict are in many situations not useful, may be harmful to the field of SFBT, and may jeopardize the quality of treatment for individual clients. The situations focused model suggests a “both/and” approach to SFBT and other models of help, to solutions and problems, and to the client’s expertise and therapist’s expertise. The situations focused model suggests that these perceived dichotomies could be easily harmonized and provide a map to effectively utilize the solution-focused model in larger human services systems, and with clients who would potentially chose a type of treatment other than SFBT. The main implications and benefits of complementing SFBT with the situations focused map are discussed on theoretical and practical levels. The term “data situation” is introduced as a concept complementing and broadening the term “exception” in SFBT; data situation refers to potential sources of recourse from any part of the total helping context.

Solution-Focused Practice and Song—An Overture: The Best Part of Us

In this article we introduce a new project, in which we are exploring the use of songs and music within solution-focused practice. We are considering ways in which songs can be drawn upon while practising the solution-focused approach, in teaching it, and in writing about it. Among our hopes and intentions is to bring together a collection of pieces of writing, each related to a particular song, which together will provide a comprehensive introduction to solution-focused practice. This article affords us the opportunity to try out a couple of such pieces, in this case to illuminate our discovery of solution-focused practice and our hopes for the project. In this way, the article is a part of the project as well as being an introduction to it. We also explain how we are situating our project in a wider context of embodied practice that has begun to influence our solution-focused thinking, and assert the importance of holistic and interactive approaches to songs in considering their uses for solution-focused practice. Finally, we share some examples of how songs can be used in practice with clients and in workshops and training courses. We also invite you, readers and listeners, to contribute directly by adding songs to our growing solutionfocused playlist.

Increasing Positive Outlook Partially Mediates the Effect of Empirically Supported Treatments on Depression Symptoms Among Adolescents

Among adolescents there is evidence that cognitive change partially mediates the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on depression outcome. However, prior studies have been limited by small samples, narrow measures of cognition, and failure to compare cognitive change following CBT to cognitive change following antidepressant medication. This study examined whether change in four cognitive constructs (cognitive distortions, cognitive avoidance, positive outlook, and solution-focused thinking) mediated change in depression severity in a sample of 291 adolescents who participated in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). TADS assessed the effects of CBT, fluoxetine, and their combination on depression severity. All three treatments were associated with change in the cognitive constructs and combination treatment produced the greatest change. Furthermore, change in the cognitive constructs partially mediated change in depression severity within all three treatments. Results implicated positive outlook as the construct most associated with change in depression severity over 36 weeks.

The Efficacy of Executive Coaching in Times of Organisational Change

Executive coaching is often used in times of organisational change to help executives develop the psychological and behavioural skills needed to focus on reaching their work-related goals whilst simultaneously dealing with the turbulence associated with organisational change. Despite its widespread use, little research has explored the impact of executive coaching during periods of organisational change. This within-subject study used both quantitative and qualitative measures to explore the impact of executive coaching during a period of organisational change on 31 executives and managers from a global engineering consulting organisation. Participation in the coaching was associated with increased goal attainment, enhanced solution-focused thinking, a greater ability to deal with change, increased leadership self-efficacy and resilience, and decrease in depression. The positive impact of coaching generalised to non-work areas such as family life. Recommendations are made for the measurement and design of executive coaching programmes.

Development and validation of the solution-focused inventory

Solution-focused coaching and solution-focused therapy are strengths-based approaches which emphasize people's resources and resilience and how these can be used in the pursuit of purposeful, positive change. The Solution-focused Inventory (SFI) is a 12-item scale with three subscales: Problem Disengagement, Goal Orientation and Resource Activation. Three studies in this article provide support for the validity of the SFI as a measure of solution-focused thinking. The SFI negatively correlated with psychopathology and positively correlated with measures of well-being, resilience and perspective taking. Test–retest reliability over 16 weeks was 0.84. Cronbach's α for the 12-item scale was 0.84. It also demonstrates sensitivity to purposeful change in that participation in a leadership development coaching intervention was associated with significantly increased scores on the SFI, whilst scores for the control group did not change.

Cognitive Measures of Adolescent Depression: Unique or Unitary Constructs?

The factor structure of several self-report questionnaires assessing depression-relevant cognitions frequently employed in clinical research was examined in a sample of 390 adolescents (M age = 14.54; 216 girls; 74% Caucasian) with current major depressive disorder enrolled in the Treatment of Adolescents with Depression Study. A four-factor solution resulted, accounting for 65% of the total variance. The factors were labeled (a) Cognitive Distortions and Maladaptive Beliefs, (b) Cognitive Avoidance, (c) Positive Outlook, and (d) Solution-Focused Thinking. Internal consistencies for the factor-based composite scores were .83, .85, .84, and .82, respectively. Girls endorsed more negative cognitions than boys on three of the four factors. Maladaptive cognitions were positively related to severity of depression and predicted treatment response. Taken together, findings indicated that there are four distinct domains of cognitions that are present among adolescents with depression that are tapped by several widely used self-report measures of cognitions.

Improving classroom dynamics to support students' learning and social inclusion: a collaborative approach

In this article, Mary Doveston and Marian Keenaghan discuss their work with teachers and students in developing more effective and satisfying interpersonal relationships in the classroom. Their approach focuses on increasing the capacity of a classroom community to address and measure its progress in the social and emotional competencies which that community has identified as being important. The principles of Appreciative Inquiry and Solution Focused Thinking underpin their approach to working with students and teachers, with the researchers supporting teachers to facilitate student participation in a process which they have described as ‘Growing Talent for Inclusion’ (GTi).

Tasteful Solutions: Solution-Focused Work with Groups of Immigrants

Solution-focused family therapy is well established as a method in the therapeutic field. Less is written regarding solution-focused thinking and practice in preventive work, providing health information. Informed by the work of Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer, a workshop of primary health care was established in an inner city area of Oslo, Norway in 1994 with a major task of developing methods for providing information about health issues for immigrants as well as the native population. Results from an evaluation of this work are presented and some issues are related to empowerment work and especially Paulo Freires' “liberating dialogue.”