Assumptions and Implications of Solution Focused Brief Therapy

This is an APA format paper which was written in 2021 during my study of the Application of Positive Psychology.

by AI Bing Image Creator

Part 1 Assumptions of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)

Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) incorporates positive psychology principles and practices, focuses on the future and goal, and helps clients change by constructing solutions rather than focusing on the problems. Similar to any therapy approaches, there are certain assumptions which are validated by the therapists, before they are implemented into practices. I explore the meanings of five assumptions of SFBT in the following sections.

1.     Therapy is a goal or solution focused endeavor, with the client as expert.

SFBT emphases working on the goals which the client identifies as important to himself/herself (NASW, n. d.). Bannink (2007) states that in SFBT, the client is the expert who develops the solutions which are most compatible to his/her situation, and hence the process could be quick and endurable. Based on this assumption, the counselor/coach is to maintain non-judgmental, curious and flexible for the client, to allow the client to develop the best solutions to meet his/her own goals. In addition, the counsellor/coach is to partner with the client to help him/her to define goals which are concrete, behavioral and specific.

2.     Focusing on the future and solutions and differences facilitate change in the desired direction. Therefore, it is helpful for counsellors to focus solution-oriented talk rather than on problem-oriented talk.

No problem is always there to the same extent for different clients and to solve it, hence it is not necessary to know a great deal about the problem in order to find solutions (Bannink, 2007).  The past and details of the problem are not necessary for resolving the problem. Therefore, the counsellor/coach focuses helping the client see what will be different when the problem is solved. The conversation focuses on the client’s strengths and resources to develop solutions. However, it is not to avoid discussion on the problem totally. The client needs to feel being heard about his/her problem before being engaged to talk about goals and solutions (Corsiglia & Nylund, 1994).

3.     Most clients already possess the resources they need in order to change.

The first assumption which puts the client as the expert who defines his/her goal and solution, implies that the client has the strengths and resources needed to make change to implement the solution and reach the goal. The client’s resources to make change are also identified by the client himself/herself, and not the counsellor/coach. The counsellor/coach is to help the client to discover their own resources in cases of exceptions when and where the problem was less impactful, and gather more insights to generate new insights which will lead to a form of resource for change (NASW, n. d.).

4.     Small changes lead to larger changes.

Theoretically a small change in one part of the system or relationship can effect another part and hence lead to larger change as a whole (NASW, n. d.). By perceiving and doing things slightly differently will create larger changes. Hence it is for the counsellor/coach to help the client breaking every goal and solution into smaller parts and ultimately to archive the goal’s success.

5.     If it is not working, do something differently.

It is common for clients to state the goal of not wanting something. Therefore it is for the counsellor/coach to help the client identifying what he/she wants differently. In addition, during the session, the counsellor/coach should also adopts the same approach by flexibly changing the questioning to better engage and motivate the client to explore and archive goals.

Part 2 Implications of SFBT Assumption in Coaching Practice

As a life coach, I find that the SFBT assumptions are much aligned to the coaching principle and the ICF core competencies (ICF, 2021). Below sections are the elaborations how the five assumptions are placed as the focus in my coaching practice.

1.     Coaching is a goal or solution focused endeavor, with the client as expert.

I usually start a coaching session by partnering with the client to define a tangible goal. This usually takes the first 15-20 minutes of a 60 minutes session. Below are the conversations I had with a client in the first few minutes in our first session of coaching, two weeks after our initial “chemistry” session. I put the ownership of defining the goal on the client, as I believe she knows the best for herself. I followed the flow of her words, and invited her to look deeper in herself to identify the push factor before continued the conversion to specify the details of her goal.

COACH: What would you like to discuss today?

CLIENT: I would like to discuss about my career.

COACH: What exactly about your career that you want to discuss?

CLIENT: There are times when I was thinking whether I should change my job. Yeah, right. I should go and try new and different things. Because life is so short. You know, there are so many things I haven't tried.

COACH: Right. So what exactly that you're looking for to achieve in our session about changing your career?

CLIENT: To understand what I really want to do, and to find something that is suitable for myself.

COACH: Why is it so important for you to find out this in the next one hour of discussion?

CLIENT: Because I'm still young. Okay. Yeah, there's so many things out there. I always wanted to try on something, but there is no push factor.

COACH: Okay. And so why is it important that you see there is a push factor now?

CLIENT: Because right now I am just in my comfort zone, earning my monthly salary, having the convenience of having my workplace near to my home.

COACH: But it seems that you now have come up with this thought that you really want to find out what career will suits you better. And I guess there could be something important to you that you will want to find out about that now.

CLIENT: Because I know if I don't try on something now, few years down the road, maybe I will not even look at it……

2.     Focusing on the future and solutions and differences facilitate change in the desired direction. Therefore, it is helpful for coaches to focus solution-oriented talk rather than on problem-oriented talk.

The focus of the conversion is on the solution. When the client mentions about his/her problem and possible reasons to the problem, I would just let him/her talk through it but not ask him/her to elaborate the problem. Instead, I would bring back the attention to focus on the solution. Below is part of a recent session I had with a client who expressed her goal to do regular daily exercise under the constraints of pandemic lockdown. I partnered with her to explore specific solution and not the constraint.

CLIENT: I wanted to do more exercise. But my last exercise was on 1st April and today is 17th April. I want to get myself doing exercise every day.

COACH: Supposed you are doing exercise every day, starting from tomorrow; what type of exercise will you be doing?

CLIENT: I wanted to do yoga. I have a yoga instructor. Oh, but now it’s due to pandemic lockdown in India this month, the instructor is not giving class.

COACH: I see. Instead of yoga, what is the other simple exercise you can do?

CLIENT: I think I can go for a walk near my house.

COACH: Where is it exactly near your house that you are going for a walk?

CLIENT: There is this circular loop around my house. I can do 10 rounds of walking there.

COACH: Great. What time will you be going for the 10 rounds of walking tomorrow?

CLIENT: In the morning. I will wake up at 6:30 am to go for the walk. I want to wake up my husband to go exercise together. But it’s very difficult to wake him up early in the morning.

COACH: Supposed you cannot wake up your husband, will you still go for the walk in the morning at 6:30am?

CLIENT: I will try to wake him up. But if he cannot, then I will go by myself.

COACH: Great. So you will be going for a morning walk tomorrow. What will you be wearing to the walk?

CLIENT: (laughter) I sometimes just wear the same T-shirt I wear to sleep to go to the walk near the house.

COACH: Sure. So which T-shirt are you going to wear for tomorrow morning walk?

CLINET: I will wear the gray bubble T-shirt for tomorrow. And I have only one pair of sport shoes, which I will wear for the walk.

COACH: That’s great. What else can you do to prepare for the morning walk tomorrow?

CLINET: I need to sleep well tonight. So I will do meditation before sleep tonight.

3.     Most clients already possess the resources they need in order to change.

I believe the client is capable to make change, and search for resources when he/she needs support. Indeed, each of us has different dimensions in life. If we are good at one thing, we already process the resource to do other thing by applying the similar approach or technique. I am always inspired by how clients being so resourceful about creating solutions for themselves. Below conversion was me partnering with a client to identify her motivation and resource to start writing, by looking at the success and discipline of her coaching practice.

COACH: Right, so you know that writing is like a to-do list and that does not motivate you. And you mentioned about coaching practice has come to you in a way naturally so that you were able to complete the coaching hours. What is the difference of doing coaching vs. writing?

CLIENT: Coaching is more interactive. It's a two way communication. While writing would be more of one way, my thoughts putting onto the paper. That could be the difference. So maybe it’s interpersonal. I enjoy more interactions than being on my own and writing. So that could be one reason why I'm not doing it as a habit.

COACH: You earlier mentioned that you see writing as a to-do list, and now you realize one reason that you don’t have the natural flow about wiring.  What is it in your mind right now?

CLIENT: Maybe I shouldn't put it as a to-do. But maybe I can just have some time allocated to my thought process. I'm more in the doing mode full day, not giving my mind to rest. And that, you know, thinking mode. So if I get into that mode, maybe writing could come naturally, because writing is not something which you can do like anything else. It’s, it's a different thing altogether. You have to have the thought process flowing, and then only you can write. So when I say I have not allocated time, maybe because I don't spend my time in the thinking, so that doing part is more. So when I'm saying I don't have to write an article every day, but can I think every day? Can I give some time for that state of mind? That's what I'm saying. And more over, I am thinking with myself. It can be interactive.

COACH: Right. You converted the “to-do” to “to-think”. The thinking also becomes interactive between you and yourself. Very creative! Supposed that you have allocated time to think and get yourself into a thinking mode, how will it make you feel about writing?

CLEINT: I think that could be the way forward because …… (Client continued to describe how she would feel about writing as a daily routine and appeared naturally to her).

4.     Small changes lead to larger changes.

One of the implication is to help the client break the goal into small parts in action to make change to reach the final goal. Below is a conversation in which the client takes the goal as the final product, and going about reverse-engineering to create a step-by-step action to build the final product.

CLIENT: I want to be able to communicate better with my teenage son.

COACH: What will be the first sign that you notice that you are able to communicate better with your son?

CLIENT: I don’t really know. Or maybe we talk more often to each other.

COACH: Right. What will need to happen as the first step towards you are talking more often with each other?

CLIENT: I think we will need to spend more time together first.

COACH: So what will need to take place for you to spend more time together?

5.     If it is not working, do something differently.

It is common for client to express his/her current state, which is not desirable. Therefore, I would invite the client explore other different states which are more desirable for him/her. Below is part of a session which I partner with the client to draw the picture from her current state of confusion to a desired state of happiness and confidence, about the change of her daughter’s school.

COACH: You have this confusion in your mind. These “what if” questions keep going around in your head, and you are not having that confidence about what will happen. What is it important for you to clear the confusion and get clarity?

CLIENT:  It is important for me to get this clarity and so I will be settled, and will be clear as to this is the best thing that I can do right now as a parent for her. So, that will reflect from me in my speaking with her, and she will be able to absorb that energy. So whatever she ends up choosing also, like, if she goes to a boarding school, she'll be happy about it rather than feeling like everybody around this was stressed. So she doesn't go with the dilemma. She doesn't go with the confusion. She doesn't go with negativity. So whichever place she goes, she carries on the positivity. And I am thinking that if I am in a positive state of not just being positive, and I'm in a clear state of mind, I will be able to transfer that clarity and positivity to her and she will be empowered. That's what I'm thinking, Oh, it is important for me that she goes and she feels happy about the decision, because it is about her.

COAH: So if you are clear from the confusion, you project the positivity to your child.

CLIENT: Yup.

COACH: What will you do differently once you are clear from the confusion of the decision?

CLIENT: I think I'll have a conversation immediately if I'm feeling very clear about the decision. Right now I'm avoiding a little bit of conversation with her. I'm delaying that I'm waiting for this day school result to come out. So I'm avoiding some conversation with her. I think if I'm clear as to what it is like, and I am completely 100% sure that the boarding is good and voted as a decision for her, then I will be having a conversation with her, a happy conversation. Happiness without any heaviness on either side.

COACH: How will that happiness make you feel or do differently?

CLIENT: I think I make something for her. I think I'll help her make strawberry jam. (Client continued to describe the details of making strawberry jam with daughter for several minutes).

In conclusion, the assumptions and approaches of SFBT fit into coaching principle and practice very well. They guide the coach going with the right mindset and attitude towards the strengths and competences of the clients. The positive energy creates more motivation for the clients to explore and develop better future plans for themselves authentically.

References

Bannink, F.P. (2007). Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. 37. 87-94. 10.1007/s10879-006-9040-y. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226524496_Solution-Focused_Brief_Therapy

Corsiglia, Victor & Nylund, David. (1994). Becoming Solution-Focused Forced in Brief Therapy: Remembering Something Important We Already Knew. Journal of Systemic Therapies. 13. 5-12. 10.1521/jsyt.1994.13.1.5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232575318_Becoming_Solution-Focused_Forced_in_Brief_Therapy_Remembering_Something_Important_We_Already_Knew

International Coaching Federation (ICF). (2021). ICF Core Competencies. https://coachingfederation.org/core-competencies 

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (n. d.). Introduction to Solution Focused Brief Therapy. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswma.org/resource/resmgr/imported/FCE_SolutionFocused.pdf