First Session Solution Focused Brief Therapy

When viewing this family in a Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) lens, we would focus on the solutions rather than the problem. Although the initial assessment would be similar to that of structural and strategic therapy, all of these issues would be explore, we would focus on the solutions rather than the problem. Although the initial assessment would be similar to that of structural and strategic therapy, all of these issues would be explored in a way that allowed for less “problem talk” and more solution based ideas.

As a parent, learning that your child has developmental disabilities can be a life altering moment in time and can cause a devastating chain reaction of events. These events have the potential to change family priorities and structure, hurt relationships, deplete financial savings and stability, and emotionally drain everyone intimately involved with you and your child. How do you find human services programs, agencies, or advocates, whose primary job is to help you provide everything your child needs? It certainly can be an overwhelming barrier, but it's the first step in giving you, your child, and your family a plan of action, goals, success, good mental health and bringing everyone back together.

This term paper is about solution-focused therapy and experiential therapy. In solution-focused therapy, the therapy does not emphasize the problem at all; it stresses and highlights the solution. The client is the expert and not the therapist. The experiential approach is often used to facilitate meaningful changes in individuals. SFBT is a short-term goal focused therapeutic approach which directs clients to focus on developing solutions, rather than on dwelling on problems. The theoretical framework, how change occurs, therapeutic techniques, postmodern perspective, the role of the therapist and some clinical examples are given in this term paper.

Hauser-Cram P, Warfield ME, Shonkoff JP, Krauss MW, Sayer A, Upshur CC. Children with disabilities: A longitudinal study of child development and parent well-being. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 2001;66:i–viii.

Family members overwhelmingly expressed very positive views of their children with intellectual disabilities. Parents also reflected on the challenges of raising a child with a disability, however even when discussing the challenges that both they and their children had faced, parents also recognized that others may not view their children the same way that they do but what should be noticed regardless of their child's functional level, parents are proud and described a variety of

Solution-focused brief therapy was originally formed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg (Corey, 2013). However, in the 1980s, Steve de Shazer joined forces with other therapists because of he was not satisfied with the strategic model. Solution-focused brief therapy focuses on solutions instead of problems during the therapeutic session. Just like the title, solution-focused brief therapy, is considerably brief. In this paper, I will talk about the solution-focused brief therapy techniques that I will use in my work setting.

Solution Focus Brief Therapy is one of the theoretical methods used in the field of counseling. It was founded by Steve de Shazer and co-founded by Insoo Kim Berg. The SFBT approach is used in schools and behavioral counseling today. The concepts of this theory has helped to implement change in schools and institutional settings resulting in an improvement of behavior outcomes worldwide. This literature review is designed to discuss the origin of SFBT and the elements required for it to be effective. It’s strong impact not only in the school system but in the world of counseling and why it is preferred over some of the other theories, which contributed to SFBT evolving. Considering early on it was always noted that more studies needed to be completed to assess the validity of this theory.

In the video, When Concerns Arise: Learning from Families’ Experiences, parents discussed the feelings they had when they discovered their child was going to have disabilities. Doctors informed them their child would never be able to walk or talk and the child would become a burden on the family. With this being said, many of them felt alone with little support. After the initial shock of learning about their child, and not wanting to believe the doctors, they began to learn and understand their child’s disability. They began to seek help and support from head start programs, teachers, advocacy groups, family members, friends and other families who have children with disabilities.

This paper draws on a literature about family centred service and the thoughts and feeling of parents in regards to having a support system in place that meet the needs of their families. It highlights parent’s perceptions of being able to make important decisions regarding the services they get for children with disability and be able to support their own child with help of support services. This paper has not explored the key worker role or system; nevertheless, it explains how parents would like their own roles when supporting their children as they know their child best similarly, how a key worker knows their child. The information is from an initiative on strategic and operational change for children with complex needs, by promoting the

In regards to patients that are resistant to the first dose of IVIG, in the video Dr. Bookstaver agreed to giving the patient a second dose, but this might not be an appropriate option for some patients due to cost restraints.

Solution-focused Brief therapy is a postmodern, constructivist advancement that uniquely focuses on the resolution of the concerns of the client. It mainly puts an emphasis on facilitating the clients by identifying and prioritizing the solutions. In short, the solution-focused approach is founded on the ground that "change can occur over a brief period of time" (Hepworth et.al, 2010). Solution-focused Brief Therapy can be represented by three principal components:

I will make it evident how Solution-Focused Therapy is the appropriate therapy for Ana (Client) due to its concepts and the nature of the therapy. Solution-Focused Therapy does not take the past into consideration, it prefers to focus on the present and the future which will benefit the client by not dreading on the past and moving forward. According to Franklin (2001), Solution-Focused Therapy is approach to formulate solutions for the clients future instead of dreading on what occurred in the past, due to its focus on identifying past successful outcomes, and exceptions to the problem, it will assist with future problems by having a skills to solve the problem. Therapist who utilize solution-focused therapy are

From the first day a child is born, parents are there to nurture their child, to support them as they grow and develop. There is a lot to learn about raising a child under normal circumstances, but when a child has special needs parents must learn this whole new language of medical and special education terms (Overton, 2005). Parents enter this new world where navigating for the best interest of their child is riddled with challenges and obstacles that they need to somehow overcome. This is especially true when parents are dealing with the special education program in their child’s school.

After gathering information from the family’s brief description on what brought them to therapy, in the first place, I then directed my attention toward Maria and asked what would you like see charged, she stated that “I want her to be a good mother (Candice)” but then she continued to express additional concerns, which is where I should have redirect the question that was initially asked. On the other hand, I believe that the solution-focused therapy worked well because it drove Candice in stating “I will try to change for my children”. This was a good state because solution-focused does not desire to restructure the family’s characters; it only seeks to guide family in setting goals (Nichols, 2014, 228).

A typical question is what will be different when everything has been solved? Brief Solution-Centered Therapy takes up almost all of its time in imagining how life will be without the problem. It is done in a detailed and concrete way bringing that vision as close as possible to reality. Directing conversations towards what works produce the following effects: shortens the duration of the session, gives the client the feeling of being the one who leads the change and allows to end the therapy in few sessions.