What is solution focused therapy?

Solution Focus Brief Therapy (SFBT), called TSR in Poland, was developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg in the late 1970s, in collaboration with their colleagues from Milwaukee Brief Family Therapy. It is a therapeutic trend aimed at the goal that the client wants to achieve and the ways of introducing changes that are most helpful for him. It focuses on solutions, not on the problems that prompted clients to seek therapy.

Solution Focused Therapy is a short-term therapeutic method that includes activities individually tailored to the client. It leads to change by creating solutions rather than focusing on problems . 

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Basic assumptions of therapy:
 

1. If it works, do more of it

2. If something doesn't work, do something else

3. If something is not broken - don't fix it

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Solution Focused Therapy focuses on:

 

• Client's resources and strengths, not deficits and disturbances;

• on its goals and the change that the client wants to achieve, not on the problems;

• on his achievements so far, not on his failures;

• on exceptions to problem situations, not on the frequency and magnitude of the problems.

​What is psychotherapy:

The therapy consists in talking to a psychotherapist and jointly searching for solutions most appropriate in a given situation. The psychotherapist helps in determining what has been effective so far and allowed the client to cope with problems and what solutions could work in the future. During the therapy, the goal to which the client wants to pursue is determined, and the psychotherapist helps the client to achieve this goal.

How to prepare for therapy:

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You can think about what you would like to change, what the situation should look like if everything worked out. You can also take notes, arrange everything in points, or write it down completely chaotically. You can think about your emotions and the feelings that accompany you, or your thoughts about the situation. You can also completely ignore it and only think about it at the meeting. No matter what happens - your therapist is there to help you get started.