Solution Focused Brief Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques provides a concise and jargon-free guide to the thinking and practice of this exciting approach, which enables people to make changes in their lives quickly and effectively. It covers:

The history and background to solution focused practice The philosophical underpinnings of the approach Techniques and practices Specific applications to work with children and adolescents, (including schools-based work) families, and adults How to deal with difficult situations Organisationanal applications including supervision, coaching and leadership. Frequently asked questions

This book is an invaluable resource for all therapists and counsellors, whether in training or practice. It will also be essential for any professional whose job it is to help people make changes in their lives, and will therefore be of interest to social workers, probation officers, psychiatric staff, doctors, and teachers, as well as those working in organisations as coaches and managers.

Contents

Part I: Background. What is Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)? The Origins of SFBT (1): Milton Erickson. Origins (2): Family Therapy and the Brief Therapy Center at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto. Origins (3): The Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee and the Birth of a New Approach. BFTC: The First Phase. BFTC: The Second Phase. SFBT Today. Philosophical Underpinnings: Constructivism. Philosophical Underpinnings: Wittgenstein, Language And Social Constructionism. Assumptions in SFBT. The Client-Therapist Relationship. The Evidence that SFBT Works. How Brief is Brief? Summary: The Structure of Solution Focused Sessions Part II: Features Of Solution Focused Interviewing. Ideas About Therapeutic Conversation. Choosing the Next Question. Acknowledgment and Possibility. Compliments. Deciding Who to Meet With Part III: Getting Started. Problem-Free Talk. Identifying Resources. Listening With a Constructive Ear: What The Client Can Do, Nohey Can’t. Constructive Histories. Pre-Meeting Change Part IV: Establishing A Contract. Finding Out the Client’s Best Hopes From the Work. The ‘Contract’: A Joint Project. The Difference Between Outcome and Process. The ‘Great Instead’. When the Client’s Hope is Beyond the Therapist’s Remit. When the Client Has Been Sent. Building a Contract With Young People. When the Client Says "Don’t Know". When the Client’s Hopes Appear To Be Unrealistic. What if There is a Situation of Risk? When The Practitioner is a Gatekeeper to a Resource. What if We Fail to Develop a Joint Project? Part V: The Client’s Preferred Future. Preferred Futures: The Tomorrow Question. Distant Futures. Qualities of Well-Described Futures: The Client’s Perspective. Qualities of Well-Described Futures: Other Person Perspectives. Broadening and Detailing Part VI: When Has it Already Happened? Instances of Success. Exceptions. Instances of the Future Already Happe...