Solution Focused Practice

Solution Focused Practice takes a particular interest in what's working in people's lives, as opposed to what isn't. This information often helps people to work out how to change the parts of their lives that aren't running so well. The most specific definition of the approach is attributed to Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. Along with colleagues, in 1978, they established the Brief Therapy Centre in Milwaukee, US. From the outset they committed themselves to a combination of practice, researching what works and training. Early influences can be traced back to the work of Milton Erikson, who typically held to the following guidelines,

• Work with what people bring.
• Work with the present and the future.
• Encourage the client to something different – pattern disruption.
• Trust that small changes can change 'vicious' cycles to 'virtuous' cycles.

 Steve de Shazer had previously worked at the Mental Research Institute at Palo Alto, along with John Weakland and others. They had also been inspired by the work of Erikson and followed the same guidelines. They tended to believe that problems persisted in people’s lives because they were applying solutions that weren’t working. Like Erikson they would usually come up with the ideas that made a difference.

 By 1982 the publications from Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and colleagues described a shift away from previous approaches, emphasising a solution-building rather than problem focused approach, and a recognition that service users could often create their own strategies for change. Several tools were found to operate like "skeleton keys", unlocking a process of problem resolution across a wide variety of difficulties. Unlike the MRI group they believed there would always be something that was already working in the client’s life. In contrast to Erikson they believed clients were able to create their own ideas for bringing about change, if helped to do so.