Therapy & Counselling

Solution focused brief therapy is an approach to counselling that is brief and Solution focused brief therapy is an approach to counselling that is brief and effective. Research shows it to bring about lasting change on average in less than 5 sessions and in up to 83% of referrals. It can be brief because it is future-focused and because it works with the strengths of those who come by making the best use of their resources, and it can bring about lasting change precisely because it aims to build solutions rather than solve problems.

People come to the BRIEF with an enormously diverse range of troubles including stress, depression, anxiety, sleep-problems, drug and alcohol problems, relationship difficulties with both children and partners, histories of abuse and oppression, pain, mental health problems and work-related concerns. On the basis of the research evidence BRIEF will work with anyone who thinks that solution focused brief therapy could be of help in his or her life.

BRIEF is also committed to being able to work not only with the rich and famous but also with the poor and homeless and therefore offers therapy on a no-fee basis to the referred clients of the public sector in significant need.

She came back like a different person and started to get on with everything.
Referrer.

Clients, especially those who have tried other therapies, often ask us why we do not ask a lot of questions about their problems or about their history. Other therapists sometimes say that if we are not curious about a person's problems and history we are not truly interested in the person.

Solution focused brief therapy is a simple idea but not easy to put into practice. It consists of only three basic questions which, if they can be answered, often lead to dramatic change. The task of the therapist is to ask the questions in a way that leads the client to discover the answers and this requires considerable skill.

For those people referring themselves it is best to telephone BRIEF to make an arrangement to meet with a member of the counselling team.

Prof. Andrew Derrington writing in the Financial Times Weekend (3-4 April 1999 & 29-30 January 2000) compared solution focused brief therapy with other therapies and said:

". . . in choosing a therapy I would steer clear of experts who professed to be able to analyse my problem. It's not that I don't care what the problem is. It's more that I don't think they would know any better than I. And anyway, it's more important to identify the solution than to understand the problem.