Solution Focused Research Articles

Women’s Perspectives on the Solution Focused Approach by Anne-Marie Wulf & Jacqui Von Cziffra-Bergs (Editors)

What an interesting project: ask 19 female Solution Focused (SF) practitioners eight questions about how they work and how their gender influences their SF practice. In summary, the eight questions were about how gender influences their SF work, how others might see SF in what they do, how the approach has been adapted to become their own, why they stay with the SF approach and what advice they would give to other female SF practitioners.

Resisting to Exist and the Subtle Invisible Protest: Six Solution Focused Tactics about Challenging Behaviour

According to Young Minds, ‘everyone gets angry sometimes’. Their website offers a number of de-escalating strategies, including staying calm, managing responses, and setting limits to help young people who most deem resistive. Yet, Young Minds are not alone because such logical advice is ubiquitous in the literature about challenging behaviour despite the fact that in our experience when faced with high states of arousal, most young people tend to act first and deal with the consequences later. It is not that they are stupid or non-caring, but they are human, capable of great feats as well as stupidity. The same is true for any claims that solution focused (SF) conversations can put right the several decades of psychological theory suggesting resistance requires logic and better cognition. By giving the correct thinking skills, young people will walk away from risk, avoid physical confrontation, handle challenging situations like logical thinkers, and generally discount that the process of growing up is part of the challenge. It is with this in mind that over recent years in our current SF practice (with staff group supervision), we have examined the concept of ‘resistance’ and how it can be put to use as a process of collaboration. To do this, we have revisited SF theory that preoccupied many of its pioneers during the 1980s and 1990s and attempted to make it useful for the early 2020s for professionals having conversations with young people, who, in traditional models, are labelled challenging. We want to introduce key differences of solution focused practice and how our research started to formulate a 6D-SF model (details, dynamics, dimensions, dispositions, dislocations, descriptions) for contemplating how groups of professionals relate to each other and are triggered by challenging behaviour. We do not claim to have proof, logic, or exactness on our side, but we are happy to suggest how our resistance mirrors what many of the staff teams feel and describe when working through their work.

해결중심 집단상담의 국내 연구 동향분석: 2007년부터 2023년 연구를 중심으로

Objectives: Solution-focused(SF) group counseling has been used as an intervention in various clinical settings. However, there are not many systematic reviews showing the landscape of SF group counseling. The goal of this study was to understand the trends of SF group counseling studies published through Korean academic journals from 2007 to the first half of 2023. Methods: For this purpose, major search engines such as RISS were used to collect the data. Seventy-one articles were extracted. The research topics were analyzed applying content analysis. Results: Key findings were as follows. First, an increasing volume of research in SF group counseling has been conducted every year since 2007 but has declined sharply since 2020 likely due to the aftermath of COVID-19. Second, the research area of SF group
 counseling is expanding and diversifying. Third, despite the growth of research, there are not enough data available to judge the quality of the studies, the principles, and central philosophies of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), and the dynamics of the groups. Conclusions: Based on the results, directions for follow-up research and practice were discussed.

Elfie J Czerny and Dominik Godat: Something That Could Change the World

Dominik Godat and Elfie Czerny have probably met more Solution Focused (SF) practitioners, authors and researchers than anyone else on the planet. Having discovered SF – and each other – in the 2000s, they set out with their young daughter in a motorhome on an odyssey around North America and Europe to spread the SF word, to meet anyone interested, to help people and learn more about how SF is used in different ways by different people, which led to the 109 episodes of the Simply Focus podcast .

Using Reflecting Teams in Solution-Focused Group Counseling Experiential Training for Master’s Students

ABSTRACTThe authors describe the use of a reflecting team (RT) to teach the experiential component of a master’s course in small group counseling using solution-focused (SF) therapy. Doctoral students act as the RT and provide feedback to the group members who can then respond to the feedback. The authors provide an overview of the process, alternative approaches for using an RT, feedback from small groups and RT members, and a RT observation form.

Towards solution-focused graduate supervision: Developing a research-based live simulation for graduate supervisors

ABSTRACT Effective supervision is vital for graduate students growing into their respected professions. Although a Solution-Focused (SF) approach can help research supervisors develop optimal capacities to support students, few training opportunities exist to date. This article describes the collaborative process of developing a live actor simulation (LAS) for supervisors to practice the SF approach at a university in Ontario, Canada. Themes generated from needs assessment surveys and interviews with 81 graduate students/alumni and 33 supervisors informed the development of three graduate student characters. Seven graduate supervisors then participated in six collaborative learning sessions to learn SF techniques and practice with simulation actors playing the student characters. Participant feedback indicated that the LAS appeared authentically emulating real-life situations they experience in graduate supervision. SF techniques were considered valuable in navigating common challenges pertinent to the supervisor-student relationship. Participants also highly valued the reflective opportunity to share concerns around their experiences with peers.

Co-Creating Solution-Focused Conversations in Disagreement

During the autumn of 2020, a group of solution-focused (SF) practitioners from around the globe gathered virtually for two months to discuss possibilities for applying solution-focused practice to antiracism work. We collected articles, blog posts, podcasts and other media relevant to racism in therapeutic contexts, first person accounts and theoretical investigations. We used our engagement with these resources as the basis of our discussions, both to raise our own consciousness and to improve our professional practice.

The Effect of Solution-Focused Scaling and Solution-Focused Questions on Expectancy and Commitment

Solution-focused (SF) approaches are widely used in schools. The present study examined the effects of a central SF technique—“scaling”—on female secondary students’ improvement expectancy (IE) and commitment to improvement (CTI). Popular follow-up questions were also tested. In Experiment 1, 120 students were randomly assigned to a “success scaling”, “success scaling” plus follow-up SF question, or control condition. IE and CTI were higher in the scaling conditions than in the control group, but differences were small and not statistically significant. In Experiment 2, 115 students were randomly assigned to a “success scaling” plus one SF question, “success scaling” plus two SF questions, or problem-focused condition. Students in the doubly augmented scaling condition reported higher IE and CTI than students in the other conditions. However, differences were small and not statistically significant. The results of this study suggest that (success) scaling techniques may not be as effective as is widely supposed. Impact Statement Solution-focused (SF) approaches are common in schools and used by both teachers and school psychologists. However, SF approaches are generally multicomponent interventions, making it impossible to identify effective techniques. The present study provides the most thorough experimental evidence to date for the effectiveness of the central SF technique: (success) scaling.

Solution-focused approach in higher education: a scoping review

ABSTRACT As students populating higher education (HE) are becoming increasingly diverse, there is a growing need to equip educators with learner-centred communication skills. A solution-focused (SF) approach represents one attractive option to equip HE instructors and supervisors with strengths-based, goal-oriented communication techniques. This scoping review maps the current use of SF approaches in HE, explores key SF tenets and techniques compatible to HE, identifies knowledge gaps, and suggests recommendations for future research and professional development. From an initial yield of 7941 citations, 17 peer-reviewed articles published between 2001 and 2018 were included in the review. The majority of reviewed articles embraced strengths-based tenet of the SF approach as conducive to enhancing learners’ engagement and self-efficacy, and improving learner–educator collaboration. SF techniques such as scaling and goal settings were used to support learners in setting individualized goals and actionable steps toward the goals. The pragmatic focus of the SF approach on solutions and multiple pathways to goal attainment was also considered helpful for academic and clinical supervisors facing time constraints. More rigorous empirical research is needed on appropriate application of the SF approach in diverse HE contexts, and on evaluation of potential mediators of change between the approach and learner/educator outcomes.

Empowering Teachers Through Instructional Supervision: Using Solution Focused Strategies in a Leadership Preparation Program

The purpose of this study was to determine how students in an educational leadership preservice program perceived the effectiveness of solution-focused supervision (SFS) taught in an instructional supervision class. Interviews, observations, and artifacts, and a case study design, were applied to address two primary research questions. Findings revealed the use of solution-focused (SF) strategies produced positive outcomes, but required dramatic paradigm shifts from study participants. Moreover, the researchers found that respondents used a wide range of SF strategies in the clinical cycle exercise. Participants, furthermore, affirmed that SF structures and language promoted reflection, conversation, and empowerment of teachers. These positive dispositions toward solution-focused supervision, however, did not come without difficulties and initial doubt.

A Broad Overview of Solution Focused Severe Trauma & Stress Recovery Work, With the Introduction of Two Additional SF Instruments to Promote Thriverhood 🇨🇳 🇹🇼 🇫🇷 🇮🇱 🇮🇷 🇷🇺 🇪🇸

The purpose of this paper is to show how the author’s solution focused (SF) work with both adult survivors of child abuse and neglect; and, adult trauma survivors, has developed from Yvonne Dolan’s severe trauma recovery work (Dolan, 1998). Dolan’s major contribution to this way of working is acknowledged; and, her three-stage Victim – Survivor –Thriver continuum detailed, with an emphasis on the Thriver stage. Other contemporary practitioners’ work is described, in brief, also. From the author’s clinical work with survivors of trauma, over some 25 years, it has become clear that clients need to understand more fully what thriverhood is about, in order to move towards it more effectively. Psychoeducation in the form of in-session verbal information and typed sheets to take away, has proved to be helpful in most cases. Some recent neuroscientific research, with specific reference to neuroplasticity is referred to, to demonstrate how clients improve through this specialist SF application. The handouts ‘What Thriving is Like’ (Figure 1) and ‘The Thriver Progress Questionnaire’ (Figure 2) are more advanced materials to help clients have a better understanding of both what is possible and how to be thriving more fully. It is the author’s intention also, to encourage more practitioners, equipped with the additional tools referred to, to take up the challenge of those important and rewarding work. Russian full article (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UTwEpWDEc0gTIotzHEO-g1pUQET_miME/view?usp=sharing) Chinese (Simplified) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PrecoGaMpry5FIx6ihDjEAJCHFN1aayG/view?usp=drive_link) Chinese (Traditional) (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M1NrT9bj17FuJ0BFoyoTdaUOAhja09bS/view?usp=drive_link) French (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cmh3t0hpTrp5QxJ4IPD_kvKs2Vvdzc9l/view?usp=drive_link) Hebrew (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mz2SGfMbVJGPI04R_VDWNmenjOn7lH5Y/view?usp=drive_link) Persian (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mn22oYIy9RH-YHaR88LlCNd6UsyZJITb/view?usp=drive_link) Russian (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pKqZbNXJJtnZOK_SHXetAXps8bvRZCdv/view?usp=drive_link) Spanish (https://drive.google.com/file/d/11wlDQ1pRlv_dyuls6WQbufTovHFcOH9o/view?usp=drive_link)

Obstacles vs. Resources - Comparing the Effects of a Problem-Focused, Solution-Focused and Combined Approach on Perceived Goal Attainability and Commitment

Previous research suggests that solution-focused (SF) questions may be superior to problem-focused (PF) alternatives for a range of practical and psychological outcomes. However, a great deal remains unknown regarding the effects of specific SF (or PF) approaches and the mechanisms through which they occur. The aim of this pre-registered study was to investigate the extent to which SF questions targeting resources have a more positive effect on perceived goal attainability (PGA) and goal commitment than PF questions targeting obstacles or a combination of PF & SF questions targeting both resources and obstacles. 115 students aged 15–16 were randomly assigned to either (i) a SF condition targeting resources, (ii) a PF condition targeting obstacles or (iii) a combined-approach condition targeting both. All participants were asked to identify a challenging area of study before answering condition-specific questions. Although not all statistically significant, results indicated that the SF group had higher mean PGA and goal commitment than both the PF and combined PF & SF group. Effect size estimates were small-to-medium for PGA and small for goal commitment. Results of a mediation analysis suggested that condition had an indirect effect on goal commitment through enhanced PGA. Qualitative data analysis suggested that the PF question was more likely than the SF question to elicit thoughts of self-regulation, whereas the SF question was more likely to elicit thoughts of tools and resources. These findings are consistent with those from previous research and broaden our understanding of SF (vs PF) questions.

Solution Focused Work as an Aesthetic

The current paper looks at Solution Focused (SF) work in a novel way – as an aesthetic (what makes it beautiful?) as opposed to a method (how do you do it?). This term comes from the art world, where different schools of painting can be described as having different aesthetics. Starting with a definition of the term, I propose five elements of an SF aesthetic: brevity, client autonomy, radical acceptance, staying at the surface and valuing small differences. While these are not present in every piece of SF work, they are things that we strive for, qualities that bring me (at least) satisfaction, cheer and reasons to continue to support, promote and develop SF.

Broadening and building solution-focused coaching: feeling good is not enough

ABSTRACTPast research has found that solution-focused (SF) coaching questions led to more positive outcomes than problem-focused (PF) coaching questions. Another body of research (Broaden and Build Theory; Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 300–319) posits that positive emotions promote AQ2the discovery of novel ideas and actions including goal attainment and positive change. These theoretical frameworks have influenced coaching practitioner literature, but no research has explored their conjoint effects. We explore these by randomly allocating 512 participants in comparing (1) PF coaching questions with (2) SF coaching questions with (3) positive affect (PA) induction with (4) a SF plus PA condition (SF + PA). The broad findings of this study were that PF questions performed the worst on all measures, and that PA induction and SF coaching questions were equally effective at enhancing positive affect, increasing self-efficacy, enhancing goal approach and developing action steps. These results show, that while positive affect makes a valuable contribution to coaching outcomes, combining PA induction with SF questions produces superior outcomes than PA or SF questions alone in terms of self-efficacy, goal approach and action steps. While this research supports the central tenets of Broaden and Build Theory in terms of coaching outcomes, just making people feel good is not enough for truly effective coaching practice.

Thriving in the Grey: The Influence of a Solution-Focused Approach in Student Affairs

Using a single case study, this study describes how one new student affairs professional applies her training in solution-focused (SF) counseling as a method for self-care, as well as for helping her students. Participant used 14 specific skills that are unique to SF work in her work with students, and she also applied the model to herself, which allowed her to see obstacles as opportunities and avoid burnout. A SF approach as an integrated curriculum in student affairs coursework might help future professionals to develop the basic and more advanced competencies needed for student affairs work, as well as impact their ability to sustain a positive mindset for self-care

Solution-Focused Approaches in the Context of People With Intellectual Disabilities: A Critical Review

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) has a growing evidence base and several authors have recognized the advantages of applying this approach with people with intellectual disabilities (ID). The purpose of this review is to summarize and critique the literature that has used solution-focused (SF) approaches in ID, and consider future directions. Methods: A literature review was carried out, identifying 12 studies; six with individuals, and six with staff and families. Results: There is preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of SFBT for individuals with mild ID and Solution-Focused Coaching or Consultation (SFC) for staff working with individuals with moderate and severe ID. However, the current evidence base consists primarily of case studies. Recommended adaptations include shortened scales and more concrete approaches to eliciting exception-seeking. Conclusions: Solution-focused techniques should be modified to accommodate the cognitive abilities of people with ID and carers should be involved in sessions where possible. There is a need for further controlled studies, with valid and reliable outcome measures, larger samples, and longitudinal data.

A qualitative study exploring the effects of attending a community pain service choir on wellbeing in people who experience chronic pain.

In line with growing evidence of the health benefits of singing, this study aimed to explore participants' perceptions of the impact of a service-user-led community pain choir on their psychological wellbeing, self-efficacy and relationships with their chronic pain. The choir has links to a multidisciplinary pain management service, which is informed by the ethos of solution-focused (SF) principles, specifically in identifying and drawing upon patients' resources. Seven choir members participated in semi-structured interviews, grounded in lines of enquiry commonly used in SF practice. Thematic analysis of the data uncovered seven themes: Physical Improvements, Emotional Impact, Personal Growth, Interpersonal Processes, Relationship with the 'Self', Living Well with Pain and Sharing the Music and Spreading the Word. Participants' narratives provided support for participation in the choir in enhancing positive affect, self-worth, interpersonal relationships and overall wellbeing. The choir enabled continued progress towards accomplishing key pain management programme aims: self-management, coping and living well with pain. Findings expanded upon existing evidence relating to singing and wellbeing by highlighting the choir's role in promoting resilience and acceptance of pain. Clinical implications are explored in relation to psychosocial dimensions of pain.

Approaching solutions or avoiding problems? The differential effects of approach and avoidance goals with solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to give insights into the dynamics underpinning different types of coaching questions by exploring the interactions between solution-focused (SF) and problem-focused (PF) coaching questions and approach/avoidance goals. Past research has found that SF coaching questions lead to more positive outcomes than PF questions. Another body of research has explored the differential effects of approach and avoidance goals. These two separate theoretical frameworks have significantly influenced the coaching practitioner literature, but no research has explored their conjoint effects. We combine these by randomly allocating 140 participants (university students) in a 2 × 2 (coaching question: SF vs. PF) (goal type: approach vs. avoidance) study. SF questions led to a greater increase in positive affect, self-efficacy and goal progress and a greater decrease in negative affect than PF questions. Contrary to expectations, there were no differences between approach and avoidance goals on any outcomes. Findings provide further support for SF approaches and insight into the multifaceted nature of goal setting in coaching.

The Development of a Program Engagement Theory for Group Offending Behavior Programs.

Offender engagement in group offending behavior programs is poorly understood and under-theorized. In addition, there is no research on facilitators' engagement. This article presents the first ever theory to address this gap. A Program Engagement Theory (PET) was derived from a constructivist grounded theory analysis that accounts for both facilitators' and offenders' engagement in group offending behavior programs (GOBPs). Interviews and session observations were used to collect data from 23 program facilitators and 28 offenders (group members). The analysis revealed that group members' engagement involved shared identities and moving on as a group. In turn, this was dependent on facilitators personalising treatment frameworks and establishing a hook to help group members move on. The PET emphasizes the importance of considering change during treatment as a process rather than simply a program outcome. Solution-focused (SF) programs were more conducive to engagement and the change process than offence-focused programs.

The differential effects of solution-focused and problem-focused coaching questions on the affect, attentional control and cognitive flexibility of undergraduate students experiencing study-related stress

Previous research has demonstrated that Solution-Focused (SF) coaching can help individuals to attain positive outcomes. However, not much is known about the processes through which these positive outcomes are achieved. In two experiments, we subjected undergraduate students to either SF or Problem-Focused (PF) questions about their study-related problems. In Experiment 1, we hypothesized and found that SF questioning (as compared to PF questioning) leads to higher positive affect (H1a) and lower negative affect (H1b). Contrary to our expectations, SF questions did not lead to higher attentional control (H2). In Experiment 2, we aimed to replicate the hypotheses for positive and negative affect and additionally hypothesized that SF questioning leads to higher cognitive flexibility (H3a). The results supported these hypotheses. However, our hypothesis that the differential effects of SF and PF questioning on cognitive flexibility are mediated by positive affect (H3b) was not supported. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.