Solutions-Focused Therapy in Franklin, TN

Many traditional therapies for addiction focus on what’s wrong with a client or what a client is doing incorrectly. However, Solution-Focused Therapy approaches client care from a position of strength rather than weakness, allowing each client to tap into their hidden or under-used abilities and strengths. In fact, one of the premises of this type of therapy is that the client knows what to do to solve their problems but just needs the support to do so. The end result is the client and the therapist settle on some very specific, concrete goals that the client can realistically reach.

Solution-Focused Therapy, which is also known as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), got its start in the late ‘70s where the developers paid attention to the questions that the therapists asked their clients. This led to the therapists noting what techniques and interactions between client and therapists worked to empower the clients and to change their behaviors.

SFBT is a flexible therapy that allows therapists to use the therapy on its own or in conjunction with another type of treatment. It has been used as a therapy for addiction as well as for relationship issues, child and familial abuse, family system dysfunction, and with children who have behavioral problems.

What to Expect in Solution-Focused Therapy session

In SFBT, helping you find a solution for you issue counts as the primary focus. The means by which you will achieve your goals is also one of the aims of this type of therapy. These client-originated solutions come about through a series of the present- or future-focused questions, which the therapist will ask you.

The assumption behind these questions is that it’s better to focus on what’s already working (as opposed to asking you questions that dig up the past and the origins of the problem). It also gives you the opportunity to solve your own problems rather than relying on the therapist to do it.

The following list shows the ways in which the therapist helps you achieve your therapeutic goals:

Discover what solutions have worked for you in the past. SFBT is a very empowering therapeutic solution: One of its basic premises is that at some point in your life, you have solved many of your problems. This belief is taken to its logical conclusion then postulates that you must have some idea of how to solve your current problem.
When where there exceptions to your destructive behavior? Solution-Focused Therapy encourages you to look for exceptions, meaning that when a client is in Solution-Focused Therapy, there is an assumption that there were times in the past when you didn’t fall into destructive behaviors. This is one of the reasons why it proves to be such an effective therapy for addiction. By looking at how you have solved problems in the past an how you avoided problematic behaviors, you can then start to develop solutions for problematic behaviors, like an addiction.
Compliments areas of success in your life. Although it may be easy for you to fall into the belief that your whole life has been a series of failures, the truth is most people have experienced some successes throughout the course of their lives. The therapist helps you tap into these successes by offering you a series of compliments and helps you understand that you have experienced some success in life.
Encouragement to do more of what works. In Solution-Focused Therapy, it isn’t necessary for you to reinvent the wheel nor to delve into the origins of your problem. Instead, the therapist encourages you to do more of what is already working in your life. In the absence of a solution, the therapist can also prompt you to experiment with new solutions.

The first step toward seeing if SFBT can help you, your child or your loved one is to talk to a therapist. Contact TalkDr Christian Counseling in Franklin, Tennessee for a free 15-minute phone consultation: email us or call 615-985-TALK