In today’s therapeutic landscape, where many approaches focus on exploring the roots of psychological challenges, Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) offers a refreshing alternative. This strengths-based, future-focused model is gaining popularity among professionals working with children, young people, families, and even adults seeking practical, positive change.
What is Solution Focused Therapy?
Solution Focused Therapy is a brief, goal-oriented approach that emphasises building solutions rather than dissecting problems. Developed in the 1980s by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, this model encourages clients to envision their desired future and identify the strengths and resources they already possess to achieve it.
Rather than exploring what’s gone wrong, SFT focuses on what’s working. It’s an empowering approach that invites clients to imagine possibilities and take small steps toward meaningful change.
Core Beliefs of SFT
At the heart of Solution Focused Therapy are several key beliefs:
- Clients are the experts in their own lives.
- Change is inevitable and can begin with small steps.
- People already possess resources and strengths to overcome challenges.
- Focusing on solutions helps build motivation, confidence, and resilience.
This approach encourages collaboration between the therapist and client, where language and curiosity play a powerful role in uncovering exceptions and creating momentum for progress.
How Solution Focused Therapy Works
SFT typically involves a few structured, yet highly personalised sessions. Rather than a lengthy analysis of the client’s difficulties, the therapist helps clarify the client’s goals and explore times when the problem was absent or less intense.
Common tools used in SFT include:
- The Miracle Question – Encourages the client to imagine how life would look if the problem disappeared overnight.
- Scaling Questions – Helps assess progress, motivation, and readiness for change on a numerical scale.
- Exception Finding – Identifies moments when the client managed well or made progress despite the issue.
- Coping Questions – Highlights resilience by asking how the client has been managing so far.
Therapists work collaboratively to highlight strengths and explore possibilities, always aiming to build on what is already working. For professionals interested in developing these skills, explore these new solution focused therapy courses that offer practical training tailored for those working with children and families.
Benefits of Solution Focused Therapy
There are many reasons why SFT is widely used across education, mental health, and community settings:
- Brief and time-efficient – Often effective in just a few sessions.
- Empowering – Focuses on hope, agency, and self-determination.
- Adaptable – Useful with children, young people, families, schools, and workplaces.
- Strengths-based – Reinforces what clients already do well.
This positive orientation often leads to quicker engagement and enhanced motivation, particularly with clients who may feel stuck or overwhelmed.
Who is SFT Best Suited For?
Solution Focused Therapy can be used with a wide range of individuals and groups. It is especially effective with:
- Children and adolescents facing behavioural or emotional challenges
- Families navigating change or conflict
- Clients dealing with anxiety, low mood, or stress
- Professionals in schools, healthcare, youth work, and counselling roles
Because it is flexible and goal-focused, it can also be integrated into broader therapeutic frameworks or support programs.
Is Solution Focused Therapy Evidence-Based?
Yes – there is a growing body of research that supports the effectiveness of SFT in both clinical and non-clinical settings. It has been used in schools to improve student wellbeing, in mental health services to reduce anxiety and depression, and in family support contexts to foster healthier communication. Its brevity, combined with its positive outcomes, makes it an appealing option for many professionals.
Final Word
Solution Focused Therapy offers a hopeful, practical, and collaborative path forward for those seeking change. By focusing on strengths and possibilities rather than problems, it empowers individuals and families to create meaningful shifts—often in surprisingly short timeframes.
If you’re ready to learn how to integrate strengths-based conversations into your work, explore our new solution focused therapy courses designed for practitioners working with children, young people and families.