Solution Focused Therapy

Most provider of psychotherapy or counselling base their methodology in a particular "school" of thinking, such as Freud, Jung, Gestalt, Person-centred or Humanistic. Solution Focused therapy is different because it does not rely on a central methology, choosing instead the starting point of "what works".

When assisting a client a solution focused therapist will assess the issues in question and then draw on known effective methods from a wide range of existing models. This can be likened to having a varied toolbox in which resides a number of effected, tried and tested methods and choosing the appropriate tool for each presented problem.

There are a number of styles of solution focused therapy, including coaching based where the implementation of assistance is in a training and empowerment context. In coaching there is often an emphasis on lifestyle change and positive tasks for the client to complete in order to assist themselves.

Another common method is NLP -  Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP began as a modelling method used to model and replicate excellence in a broad range of industries. In Solution Focused Therapy NLP can be used effectively to problem solve using modelled methods from various therapies, industries and methodologies.

Solution Focused Therapies often study a wide range of diverse topics and use knowledge from them to assist their clients. It is not unusual for therapists and coaches to have studied business, coaching, theology, psychology, philosophy, methods of analysis, NLP, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy or complementary therapies.  Naturally therapists should only use methods that have been studied to an appropriate level, and which can be implemented carefully using a method (such as coaching) in which they are qualified.