SFBT: Solution-focused Brief Therapy
Solution-focused therapy makes the focus on your future. There is less emphasis on the “why or how?” and more on the “what’s next?” Looking forward can be a potent tool. Focusing on the future can give you freedom from the ties of your past, holding you back.
Everyone’s therapy journey is personal and looks different. For some, dissecting the past is important. Others might find that a thinking solution-focused therapy may be a better fit. Therapy is where people go when they are seeking healing, feeling anxious, or are having difficulties embarking on a new journey. Often, the process of therapy can feel like it is steeped in the past. This can prove extremely difficult when you are trying to move forward, but it isn’t the only way.
Solution-focused
Once you have identified your issue or how that is impacting you in a negative way, it’s time to look ahead. Instead of honing in on the mounting problems, SFBT helps to shift your mindset. What do I want or need to do differently to see improvements? Take the power away from the negatives and give it back to yourself.
Goal Oriented and Client Driven
Any positive change, no matter how small, is a step towards a bigger goal. A therapist can help keep you accountable and create measurable, achievable goals. Goals that are a challenge but you know are attainable will be the most likely to lead to success and change.
Successful SFBT will focus on what the client brings to the table. A therapist will help you identify the support and resources that already exist in your life. These tools will enable you to be successful. Sometimes it takes additional guidance to utilize and understand how these resources can work in our lives.
Is Solution-focused Therapy Right for Me?
Solution-focused Brief Therapy is a technique that can be successful for a variety of individuals. In particular, those struggling with anxiety, depression, and high stress. By identifying how you want to feel, and when you feel that way, it can become a great tool to help you process day-to-day issues that have been holding you hostage.
The Miracle Question
- What if you woke up and your anxiety and stress were gone? How would that day be different from the days before? Can you imagine yourself without the heaviness of that worry and how it unlocks your ability to see things more clearly?
Utilizing a Rating Scale
- Where it’s your overall day, stress level, or your personal progress, having quantifiable data can help with your success. Consistently giving these a value, maybe on a scale of 1-10, can reveal patterns. This may lead to you being able to avoid or prevent stressors and also identify what tools are working best for you.
Can You Remember a Time?
- What if there was a moment when your anxiety seemed less impactful? Were you on vacation, were you trying a new meditation method, or did you have a friend nearby for support? Pinpointing exactly what makes you successful, can show you that you can do this. You can use those successful methods in future situations, enabling you to “unlock the power.
Keep looking forward to the future that you have designed. It’s important to learn from the past, but SFBT can help prevent you from living in it. Solution-focused Brief Therapy is also a great tool in schools and community settings. Understanding SFBT can be empowering and lead to long-lasting success, because most of these tools and resources are things you already possess. You just may need a little help seeing it with your own eyes. If you’d like to learn more about Solution-focused therapy and if it’s right for you, please reach out to one of our therapists for a free consultation.
