Elliott Connie
MA, LPC
817-602-1714
Contact Elliott

Keller Office
1660 Keller Parkway
Suite 102
Keller, TX 76248

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT): My Approach

Experience Solution-Focused Therapy and Discover a New Future

My Approach to SFT

A conversation about the details of your goals for therapy and what steps are needed to accomplish those goals can only lead to the inevitable accomplishment of those goals.

The Miracle Question

"Suppose you went to sleep and a miracle occurred. What this miracle does is completely solve all of the problems that are troubling you today. But because this miracle occurred while you were sleeping, you don't know that it happened. When you woke up the next morning, what would be the smallest first hint that something miraculous has occurred?"

This question is key to the type of therapy that I do. I ask my clients future-focused questions that allow them to envision a future without the problem with great detail. Often times this is the first time someone has thought about these things and just by describing the future in this way, it becomes more doable.

Searching for Exceptions

"Tell me about those times when the problem is not present, or at least not as bad."

I tenaciously explore times in my client's lives when the problem is not as powerful to get clues as to what the client is already doing that will lead towards a solution. In answering this question, clients begin to feel hopeful as they realize there are already times when they have solved the problem. Usually, these exceptions have gone unnoticed since so much time and energy has been spent paying attention to the problem. Shifting focus to these exceptions allows those times when the problem is not present to grow and become more pervasive until the problem is totally eliminated.

Goal Setting

In my practice, goal setting and assessment are constantly taking place. This is due to the fact that almost everything I say in session is a variation of the following three questions:

1. "What are your best hopes for today's meeting?"

2. "What do those best hopes look like?"

3. "How will you know when those best hopes begin to happen?"

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is also known as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). It is known as brief therapy because the constant assessment of the goals and progress in achieving these goals in the treatment process is significantly shorter than other approaches. Once the client's goals have been achieved, therapy is over. In short, therapy does not last one session longer than the client thinks is needed in order to achieve their goals. This differs from more traditional psychotherapies where the therapist determines the length of treatment.