Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) Course

Lesson 1 • Comparing SFBT to Other Modalities

Contrasts SFBT with cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and person-centred approaches. Students identify what makes SFBT structurally and philosophically distinct.

Lesson 2 • Core Philosophical Assumptions

Examines the postmodern, constructivist, and strengths-based premises underlying SFBT. Students articulate how these assumptions shape therapeutic stance and goals.

Lesson 3 • Origins and Development of SFBT

Traces SFBT from its Milwaukee Brief Family Therapy Centre origins through key contributors. Grounds students in the intellectual lineage shaping current practice.

Lesson 1 • Cultural Humility in the Alliance

Applies not-knowing to cultural identity, values, and context within the therapeutic relationship. Students adapt relational stance to honour diverse client worldviews.

Lesson 2 • Identifying Client Visitor-Complainant-Customer Types

Introduces the three client relationship stances and their implications for intervention. Students match therapeutic responses to each stance to maximise engagement.

Lesson 3 • The Not-Knowing Stance

Defines the therapist's deliberate curiosity and suspension of expert assumptions. Students practise language that positions the client as the authority on their own life.

Lesson 1 • Coping and Relationship Questions

Covers coping questions for crisis contexts and relationship questions for systemic perspective. Students integrate these into sessions to broaden the solution landscape.

Lesson 2 • Scaling Questions

Introduces numerical scaling to measure progress, confidence, and motivation concretely. Students use scaling sequences to identify small steps and track change over time.

Lesson 3 • Complimenting and Affirming Responses

Teaches direct and indirect compliments as reinforcement of client strengths and efforts. Students distinguish genuine affirmation from hollow praise within SFBT sessions.

Lesson 4 • The Miracle Question

Teaches the miracle question as a tool for constructing a vivid preferred-future vision. Students practise delivery variations that maintain client engagement and specificity.

Lesson 1 • Negotiating Goals with Reluctant Clients

Addresses goal formation with mandated, ambivalent, or visitor-stance clients. Students apply visitor and complainant strategies to move toward workable goals.

Lesson 2 • Translating Complaints into Goals

Teaches the linguistic shift from problem descriptions to solution-oriented goal statements. Students practise reframing client complaints into actionable preferred-future language.

Lesson 3 • Tracking Goal Progress Across Sessions

Establishes methods for reviewing and updating goals as client circumstances evolve. Students use scaling and exception data to document and celebrate incremental progress.

Lesson 1 • Subsequent Session Structure

Introduces the EARS sequence—Elicit, Amplify, Reinforce, Start again—for follow-up sessions. Students apply EARS to consolidate gains and sustain solution-focused momentum.

Lesson 2 • Session Opening and Problem-Free Talk

Covers the strategic use of problem-free conversation to establish rapport and identify strengths. Students open sessions in ways that orient clients toward resources before discussing concerns.

Lesson 3 • The Consultation Break

Explains the mid-session pause for therapist reflection and message preparation. Students use the break to synthesise session content into targeted compliments and tasks.

Lesson 4 • Constructing the Closing Message

Teaches the three-part closing message: compliment, bridge, and task or suggestion. Students draft closing messages that reinforce client strengths and prompt between-session action.

Lesson 1 • SFBT with Children and Adolescents

Adapts miracle questions, scaling, and exceptions for developmental stages. Students use play-based and narrative tools to engage younger clients in solution-focused work.

Lesson 2 • SFBT with Families

Extends SFBT to multi-member family systems with divergent goals and perspectives. Students facilitate family sessions that honour each member's preferred future.

Lesson 3 • SFBT with Couples

Applies SFBT to relational goals, shared exceptions, and interactional scaling. Students manage competing agendas while maintaining a solution-focused couple alliance.

Lesson 1 • Substance Use and Behavioural Concerns

Adapts SFBT for clients with substance use or behavioural health challenges. Students use motivational and solution-focused hybrids to support client-defined change goals.

Lesson 2 • Safety Planning with SFBT Language

Integrates solution-focused coping questions into structured safety assessment and planning. Students construct safety plans that emphasise client strengths and existing support networks.

Lesson 3 • Working with Mandated Clients

Addresses the unique challenges of involuntary referrals within an SFBT framework. Students find workable goals that satisfy both client autonomy and referral requirements.

Lesson 1 • Self-Reflection as a Therapeutic Tool

Teaches therapists to apply solution-focused questions to their own professional growth. Students identify personal strengths and exceptions in their clinical practice patterns.

Lesson 2 • Building a Continuing Competence Plan

Guides students in designing a structured plan for ongoing SFBT skill development. Students identify training resources, mentors, and measurable competency milestones.

Lesson 3 • Supervision and Peer Consultation

Structures SFBT-consistent supervision that focuses on therapist strengths and small gains. Students use peer consultation formats to review cases and refine technique.