Concerns for Working in a Solution-Focused Way In Counselling

Therapy has always been about helping clients achieve insight into reasons for their problems, and hopefully provide them with a way forward.  Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), on the other hand, discourages speculating about why symptoms arise, avoids discussion of the ‘problem’ (Brown & Brown, 2002: 64) and encourages solution talk. It is in this area that I would like to raise a couple of concerns.

Not paying enough attention to the client’s problem may result in the client feeling like they have not been heard. This may lead to a client feeling they are wasting their time and also feeling that the counsellor doesn’t care about what they might have experienced. A big help to the client is that “normalization of affect can occur during problem clarification” (Quick, 2008: 27). Listening and validating the client’s feelings also helps to connect and join with the client, which cements a good therapeutic alliance.  People will only talk when they feel heard and understood. James gives counsellors great wisdom here, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…” (1:19).

Therapy is less about the model and the techniques and more about the attitude of the counsellor and the interchange between the client and the counsellor (Butler & Powers cited in Nichols & Schwartz, 2006: 323). So if rapport and trust have been established in the relationship through empathic listening then there is a greater chance of a good outcome.

Often a client may not present with one clear-cut problem, and so if this is not clarified the therapy may not be relevant or the right interventions exercised. Often, labelling the problem can be a critical first step toward solving it (Quick, 2008: 27). In some cases it is possible the SFT framework may push clients forward who are not yet ready to deal with future oriented issues and the counsellor may have to refocus talk on the client’s problem (Miller, 1992: 5).

If the counsellor moves too quickly into introducing possible solutions, then the counsellor may minimise the client’s pain and the client may feel that he/she is not allowed to talk about what’s important for them. A distinction needs to be made however that this problem may occur less frequently in strategic solution focused therapy than in SFT where “solution elaboration frequently begins earlier in the sequence” (Quick, 2008: 120).

Another concern for SFT is that advocates for it saying that the solution is within all of us and we must have coped previously.  Therefore, all a counsellor needs to do is bring that to the attention of the client, to provide the client with the means to rectify their situation. But what if their way of coping is no longer helpful?  Perhaps things may have changed, the situation may be different, or the relationship dynamics don’t work that way anymore?

While research here in Melbourne has revealed that planned ‘One Therapy’ sessions has shown that clients have “reported improvement and satisfaction with this single contact”, (Young & Rycroft, 1997: 18) it must be acknowledged that if problems are a long time in developing, then they will take a long time to solve (Miller, 1992: 1). Also unless the origins of the complaint are identified, then change is unlikely to occur, and if it does, it is unlikely to last (Wilgosh, 1993: 98). De Shazer (1987:59) says, “No approach always works.”

A great thought to end with as counsellors need to keep in mind that clients are very different and the only way that counsellors are going to be able to go forward with their clients, is to listen to what the client wants to tell them, and, don’t be surprised, if what they say includes their problems.

By David Mitchelmore
Credentials – B Theol; Master in Counselling; Grad. Dip. Ch. Counselling; Adv. Dip. CFT; Cert. IV TAE.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, J.H. & Brown, C.S. (2002). Marital Therapy: Concepts and skills for effective practice. Australia: Brooks/Cole. De Shazer, S. (1987). Minimal Elegance. Networker. September/October: 57-59. Miller, Scott D. (1992). The Symptoms of Solution. Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapy. 11(1): 1-11. Nichols, Michael P. with Schwartz, Richard C. (2006). Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods. (7th ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Quick, Ellen K. (2008). Doing What Works in Brief Therapy: A Strategic Solution Focused Approach. (2nd ed.)  Cambridge: Academic Press. Young, Jeff  & Rycroft, Pam. (1997). Single Session Therapy: Capturing the Moment. Psychotherapy in Australia.  4(1): 18-23. Wilgosh, R. (1993). How can we see where we’re going if we’re always looking backwards? Counselling. May: 98-101

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