Effective Counselling Modality – SFBT

COUNSELLING MODALITIES – SOLUTION FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY

WHAT ARE COUNSELLING MODALITIES?

The counselling modalities are nothing but the different ways or forms of approaches in counselling or psychotherapy. In this article, the focus is gonna be on “SFBT – Solution Focused Brief Therapy” which is one of them.

WHAT IS SFBT?

Solution Focused Brief Therapy is a form of psychotherapy focusing on the present with future visionaries as the base. To put it simply, it seldom or not at all focuses on the past of the client who comes for the therapy. As the name says, it is fully directed on establishing solutions for the current issues concerning the future. Few analyses may be done with the past of the individual over similar issues, however, it doesn’t have any clarification over the reasons for the issues or the past experiences of the individual.

“Focus on the Future to Move on in the Present By Learning from the Past”

HOW IS IT DONE?

The basic technique in SFBT is to help the concerned individual identify their expertise which could lead them to the desired solutions. It is substantially guiding the individual to know his/ her strengths clearer. In that case, it can also be expressed as the way of shifting the focus from the negatives to the positives of oneself with the help of the therapist.

The essence of the treatment is to encourage the individual to imagine a desired future (in context with their current issues) that is visionaries and discover what and how much effort should be done to achieve that. The therapist aids in creating this outline working along with the client and ensures whether the planned strategies are working out for him/ her. This step by step procedure is followed by the individual if found effective. For illustration, what are his plans or goals if the current problem doesn’t exist – this question can help the therapist identify the prophets of the client and help him/ her work towards it which in turn pays off for the solution with the current issue fading away.

It is generally done by asking certain questions about that individual. Those questions are designed to make the clients think and realise their potentials. For example, how did you cope up with this issue all along till now – this question will make the client realise their strengths and come up with a suitable solution.

“The right question gets the answer right”

CONCEPTS ROOTING FOR SFBT

The primary concepts underlying the whole solution-focused brief therapy are,

• Perception is reality, that is if the problems exist only because the individual has perceived it in a certain way. If so, by changing the perception or focus, the desired mindset and behaviours can be developed in the individual.
• Following the first point, SFBT is an approach that falls under the umbrella of constructive therapies. Constructivism posits that people are meaning makers and are ultimately the creators of their realities. The SFBT concept believes that change in life is inevitable. Because someone creates his or her reality, if so, he or she may as well change for the better.
• Time is the solution. With time whatever seems like a big deal now can turn into a trifle. So by deviating or focusing on realistic current goals can make the present issues fade away in time.
• Simplicity is the best approach. The inventor of this modality – Steve DeShazer was a big fan of William of Ockham and Ockham’s razor: “What can be done in fewer means is done in vain when done with many.” Based on his philosophy, DeShazer has put forward the SFBT – approach.
• Everyone can solve their crisis and be resilient. It’s just sometimes they need the guidance of others to reach that state.

PROVEN EFFECTIVENESS

Research supports SFBT as it may be a helpful intervention for youth experiencing behavioural or academic/school-related concerns. It is also proved as an effective approach to family therapy and couples counselling.

Individuals of different cultural backgrounds and age groups have all been attained the benefits from the SFBT therapy. The therapy covers all areas including home, school & workplace. It is also done as group therapies.

IMPEDIMENTS OF THE APPROACH

The main concern of the approach is that it is done within a very short period, in general, which is contradicting several other (traditional) approaches. This makes the approach more sceptical.

The second predominant limitation is that the therapy doesn’t give enough attention to the past or the reason for the crisis which is considered as groundless.

This is followed by the criticism that the therapist typically doesn’t have much time to empathize with the client’s situation and so the emotional connection between the therapist and the client which is inevitable in an effective therapy is getting disrupted. These all ask for further research and studies to provide tangible evidence regarding the approach.

IMMEDIATE SOLUTION

The immediate and effective solution to overcome the cons of SFBT is to employ it collaboratively with some other suitable approaches. So that the whole treatment plan will be beneficial for the client when it is blended with several modalities. The cons of one modality can be compensated by the pros of another modality.

“Unity is strength”

CAREER ASPECT OF SFBT

Individuals interested in becoming practitioners of SFBT may earn certification from the International Alliance of Solution-Focused Teaching Institutes (IASTI).

Three levels of certification are offered:

Level 1: Solution-focused practitioner

Level 2: Advanced solution-focused practitioner

Level 3: Master solution-focused practitioner

Eligibility for consideration:

All applicants should be able to practice solution-focused therapy in a professional setting. Meaning – counsellors, therapists, teachers, coaches, or other applicants who work for the improvement of the people’s mental health must verify their access to a professional environment deemed suitable by the training institute. Individual IASTI member institutes possess certain prerequisites for acceptance into the SFBT certification program.

Training in solution-focused brief therapy helps the candidates learn core principles, master related therapeutic techniques, and illustrate competency in practising SFBT. At the top of the training, each applicant must successfully pass an IASTI-approved exam to earn certification.

“Every modality has its pros and cons where SFBT is not any exception, counting on the individual’s need and context – Solution Focused Brief Therapy is included into the entire therapy plan which can be beneficial”

THANK YOU,