I. Guiding Principles of Solution Focused Therapy
-Focus on solutions, not problems
-The client already possesses knowledge and skills
-Envision the future; don't over analyze the past
-Duplicate present productive behaviors/thinking
-Look for and highlight the good
-Small changes lead to big change; celebrate even slight positive changes
II. How Do The Therapist and Client Work Together using Solution Focused Therapy
Therapist and client first collaborate to identify goals to address a presenting problem. Therapist and client then generate a detailed description of how the client's life will be different when the problem has improved. Therapist and client then search through the client's life experience and behavioral repertoire to identify solutions/exceptions the client can implement.
III. Research Findings on Solution Focused Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy is an evidenced-based psychotherapy approach. There have been close to 150 randomized clinical control studies with different control populations in different clinical setting in multiple countries, almost all showing positive outcomes with Solution Focused Therapy. There have also been eight meta-analyses on a range of outcomes across different populations and different presenting problems (Kim et al., 2019).