The Solution Focused Way

This is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to incorporating solution focused techniques into everyday practice. Solution focused therapy helps clients to identify how their lives would be without their problems by exploring current client resources and strengths, and their hopes for the future. Instead of dissecting the problem, it looks at what is different when the problem isn't happening or is less severe. These times are the building blocks of solutions. Solution focused methodology is increasingly used within community mental health teams, mental health charities, inpatient settings, education and business, as it is a well-structured and demonstrably effective approach. This book provides: guidance for practitioners to gain the skills they need to move from problem focused work to searching for solutions; a comprehensive step-by-step guide to using solution focused techniques and integrating them into existing practice; a brief review of the evidence base on solution focused therapy; ample exercises to give to clients to help them move away from their problems to finding solutions; and, clear instructions on how to adapt these techniques for specific populations such as individuals with substance misuse problems, individuals in crisis, anger management and working with couples. This is a very clear and practical guide to using solution focused brief therapy in everyday practice and will be invaluable for all practitioners wanting to incorporate these techniques into their work.

Foreword, Acknowledgements, Preface, Introduction, 1. What the dickens is Solution Focused Therapy?, 2. Does it work: how effective is Solution Focused Therapy?, 3. The power of the therapeutic relationship, 4. How change happens, 5. From problems to solutions: changing the focus of the practitioner, 6. Building solutions, 7. Speciality applications, 8. Exercises to discover solutions, References