Do you feel stuck in a cycle of negative feelings or behaviour? Are you struggling to make changes, however hard you try? Solution-Focused Therapy (also known as SBT, or Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) may be the right treatment for you. It is an approach to psychotherapy based on solution-building.
Rather than concentrating on the things you can’t change or have no power over, Solution-Focused Therapy makes you reflect on the future and the things you can control.
How Solution-Focused Therapy Works
Together with your therapist, you will identify ‘possible futures’: tangible goals that you can work towards. Solutions are developed by talking about your plans for these possible futures and identifying the thought or behaviours that might sabotage your progress, without dwelling on the past. You will also learn how to cope with setbacks and changes of goals along the way, relying on your own hidden strength and resources.
Importantly, this type of therapy can take only three to five sessions, so it can be very helpful if you are aware of feeling stuck but you can’t commit to a long period of therapy. Often used as an early intervention strategy, it can give you the confidence and tools you need to make progress at a busy or difficult time. We can also incorporate Solution-Focused Therapy into a larger treatment programme, as it doesn’t conflict with other types of therapy. It is suitable for both children and adults with a wide range of issues, but it can also be useful for managers seeking better workplace strategies.
Solution-Focused Therapy was developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, two influential psychologists who believed the patient, and not the therapist, knows what will work best for their problems. You just need therapeutic encouragement to reflect on scenarios that would remove or reduce your problem and create lasting change with an action plan that works.
In Solution-Focused Therapy, we measure your progress using a ratings system. As you learn to focus on what’s going right, and how you can leapfrog from one positive sign of change to the next, you will learn to shift your focus from negative automatic thoughts to proactive goal-setting and life changes. If you’re normally a goal-oriented person but you feel bogged down by life’s obstacles, you will benefit from this type of talking therapy.
To find out more about Solution-Focused Therapy at Christine Tizzard Psychology, in areas like Sussex, Surrey, London, Kent or further afield in the UK, get in touch today.