Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Solution Focused Brief Therapy

3167 Words13 Pages
In this assignment I will discuss how I feel Solution Focused Brief Therapy will facilitate my practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. To do this I will briefly look at the history of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and then I will identify it’s fundamental concepts and techniques and compare them with those of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg are widely credited as co-founders of SFBT in the early 1980's, along with others (Jim Derks, Elam Nunnally, Marilyn La Court and Eve Lipchik). They were based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but were influenced by the research coming out of The Mental Research Institute (MRI) based in Palo Alto, CA. The foundation of their ethos is "If it is not broken, do…show more content…
As such it is a wholly optimistic approach, using the Speakers vision of how they wish to see their future to be. An SFBT session typically features questioning as its primary style of communication (Trepper et al. 2013), this is seen most acutely in the Miracle Question for which SFBT is noted for developing. The Miracle Question is not just one question but a series of questions the first being where the Listener asks the Speaker; to imagine a miracle has occurred during the night of which the Speaker is not aware has happened, on waking what would be the first thing the Speaker would notice to tell them that a miracle has indeed happened? The Miracle Question is not about imagining an unrealistic future life where the Speaker is a multi-billionaire, living in paradise with the physique of a God(dess), rather it’s about imagining a realistically attainable future that the Speaker can achieve based on what they can do to affect change for themselves. The question allows the speaker to visualise a future life with constructive exceptions. By using a series of open questions, such as "what difference would you notice first?" and "what else?", which allows the Speaker to consider life the way they wish it to be and what needs to change to achieve this new life, it instils hope in the future rather than dwelling on past events or issues. It also develops an awareness within the Speaker of their own resources to make the changes towards their future life. Further questions with in the session may include; Coping Questions (what keeps you going?, what else?), Scaling Questions (where do you need to be?, what else?) as well as Exceptions Questions (when doesn't the problem happen?, what else?). The purpose of all these questions, including the Miracle Question, is to hone in on the behavioural changes, no matter how minute they may be, which are necessary to make

More about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Solution Focused Brief Therapy

Open Document