This book presents the fundamentals of the evidence-based solution-focused brief therapy approach by examining how it was developed, the research that supports it, and the key techniques that enable its effective implementation.
Developed originally as a psychotherapeutic approach, the solution-focused approach is now being applied across a wide variety of contexts including psychotherapy and counseling, schools, business, and organisations. This accessible and introductory guide provides a unified description and demonstration of the basic commonalities that characterise, inform, and support its implementation across all these contexts. Readers will acquire a clear understanding of the essentials of the solution-focused approach and how to apply it to everyday life.
This book is essential for undergraduate students in courses such as psychotherapy, clinical psychology, and social work. As well as mental health professionals and caregivers seeking to quickly familiarise themselves with the solution-focused approach, and anyone interested in solution-focused and brief therapies.
1. What is Solution-Focused Therapy and How Was It Developed? 2. What Solution-Focused Practitioners Do and Do Not Do: Key Assumptions 3. What Does a Solution-Focused Therapy Session Look Like? 4. Solution-Focused Practices in School Settings 5. Solution-Focused Therapy For Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress 6. Solution-Focused Coaching in Business Settings 7. Solution-Focused Therapy Applied to Self-Help
Biography
Yvonne Dolan is a Solution-Focused Therapy practitioner, consultant, and trainer in the United States. She has provided training on the solution-focused approach in 22 countries. She is also the author/co-author of 7 books, numerous chapters, and articles, and her writing has been translated into 8 languages.
"Refreshing and relatable. A must-read for those who want a foundation of this evidence-based model’s rich history combined with a hands-on understanding of its powerful application in the present. Yvonne Dolan brings this model to life with stories, examples, and research, making this a book you can’t afford to miss."
Teri Pichot, LCSW, LAC, MAC, Clinical Director of Denver Center for Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, U.S.A., author of Solution-Focused Substance Abuse Treatment, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Its Effective Use in Agency Settings.
"Yvonne Dolan captures the heart and soul of solution-focused practice, engaging the reader in an inspiring and compelling journey from the beginning of its development to its practical applications in many diverse areas. A training faculty member of the original Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC), the home of solution-focused brief therapy, Yvonne is the most authoritative voice today. This is an absolute ‘must have’ book for those who are curious about, teach or practice the solution-focused approach."
Debbie Hogan, MS, MSFC, ICF-MCC, EMCC MP, EMCC ESIA, Director of the Academy of Solution Focused Training, Singapore, author of Solution Focused Practice in Asia.
"Yvonne Dolan’s new book is ‘a must’ for any SF practitioner’s bookshelf. It stands apart from most other SF texts in that it takes a real ‘nuts and bolts’, ‘drilling-down’ approach to how SF conversations work in a variety of settings. Also, there is one of the clearest descriptions I have seen yet, of what makes SF radically different from other ways of working."
John Hendon, Director of John Hendon Consultancy, UK, author of Preventing Suicide: The Solution Focused Approach, and Beating Combat Stress: 101 Techniques for Recovery.
"This highly readable book is crystal clear evidence of a theoretical-practical SFT alliance in which core elements and key assumptions form the pragmatic, linguistic and philosophical heart and soul of the SFT approach with an eye to its genesis and development. Each chapter is larded with clear examples using a variety of SFT techniques and explanations applicable in a variety of settings."
Jos Kienhuis, Head of European Brief Therapy Association Research Task Group, Director of Jos Kienhuis Consultancy, the Netherlands.
