Ch. 15 Solution-Focused Flashcards
7 Solution-focused Brief Therapy Treatment Techniques
Cocreate a problem with the family.
Ask the miracle question.
Note exceptions to the problem.
Use scaling. Use second-order (qualitative) change.
Use compliments (to create a “yes set”). Provide the family with a “clue” (an intervention that mirrors the usual behavior of a family).
Use skeleton keys (universal interventions that have worked in past)
brief therapy
an approach to working with families that has to do more with the clarity about what needs to be changed rather than time. A central principle of brief therapy is that one evaluates which solutions have been attempted and then tries new and different solutions to the family’s problem, often the opposite of what was already attempted.
clue
an intervention in Steve deShazer’s brief therapy approach that mirrors the usual behavior of a family. It is intended to alert a family to the idea that some of their present behavior will continue.
complainants
a solution-focused term to describe clients who complain about and describe a situation or problem.
compliment
a written message used in brief family therapy designed to praise a family for its strengths and build a “yes set” within it. A compliment consists of a positive statement with which all members of a family can agree.
consultants
the term given to the deShazer team in brief family therapy. Consultants observe a family session behind a one-way mirror and transmit messages to the therapist at a designated break time in the session.
customers
a solution-focused term for clients who not only are able to describe a problem and how they are involved in it, but also are willing to work to solve it.
exceptions
a term used in solution-focused family therapy for “negative” or “positive” space (or time when achievement of a family goal may be happening).
positive blame
a solution-focused therapy concept in which the therapist recognizes the competence of a clients through such questions as, “How did you make that happen?”
possibility therapy
another name for Bill O’Hanlon’s solution-focused family therapy.
presuppositional question
a question used in solution-focused therapy, such as, “What good thing happened since our last session?” that supposes a certain type of response.
skeleton keys
in deShazer’s brief therapy approach, those interventions that have worked before and that have a universal application.
social constructionism
a philosophy that states that experiences are a function of how one thinks about them and the language one uses within a specific culture. From this perspective all knowledge is time and culture bound. It challenges the idea that there is objective knowledge and absolute truth. Narrative and solution-focused therapy are based on social constructionism.
solution-focused brief therapy
a therapeutic approach that grew out of strategic therapy, particularly the Mental Research Institute (MRI) model. It represents a departure from a focus on pathology-driven approaches to therapy by concentrating on skills, strengths, and resources that clients possess and finding solutions for dealing with problems. It is a change-oriented intervention that uses a strengths-based approach.
visitors
a solution-focused term to describe clients who are not involved in a problem and are not part of a solution.
