I can only imagine that this is a shared experience amongst those of us who teach, train, and talk about the Solution Focused approach with groups of people, that the same questions come up time and time again. Some years ago one of the most common questions was framed as ‘and how does Solution Focus work with autistic people?’. The framing of the question then shifted to ‘and how does Solution Focus work with people on the spectrum?’. And even more recently people have been asking ‘what about neurodivergence, how does Solution Focus work with people who are neurodivergent?’. This question always gives rise in me to a certain, predictable, anxiety. I am not an expert in the field of neurodivergence. Indeed my lack of expertise is such that I am not even fluent in the languaging that characterises professional discussions about neurodivergence without access to which it is hard for outsiders to even reach the starting line for making any sort of valid contribution. Those of us outside this area of practice constantly fear that we will ‘put our feet in it’ and this inhibits us from saying anything very much, even when our contributions may, perhaps, be of some use. Even writing this leaves me thinking that some might find this short paragraph offensive in some way and if it is please let me assure you of my good-will and apologise at once. However this week the question was raised (again) on a training course and it was raised in a way that gave me the confidence to do more than merely to say ‘I know very little about neurodivergence but two books have been published about this and reading them will in all probability be a lot more helpful than my thoughts’.
Now I know that I will not be doing full justice to the course participant who raised the question, which she did having observed a session where the worker was asking the client questions to elicit a really detailed description of the preferred future and subsequently of the history of the preferred future through a scale question. However in retrospect my (inevitably limited) understanding of the issue that she was raising was along the following lines ‘the density of the questions that you are asking and the pace of the conversation could easily be experienced as overwhelming by a neurodivergent person and indeed could feel threatening to them in which case they may respond by shutting down in order to protect themselves’.
If for a moment we step back from neurodivergence we can start with the generic clinical challenge of any practitioner using the Solution Focused approach with anyone, namely to create a context within which the person can work, which in Solution Focus requires people to answer questions, and to ask questions which the person can answer. So there is a constant process of learning going on, the worker attuning themselves to their client more and more finely as the conversation proceeds. The most obvious form that this takes, a form that is highly visible in any session, is the worker’s use of the client’s own language. However we also see a process of ‘tone-matching’ (George, 2024) typically going on and ‘pace-judging’, working out, for example, how quickly the client can move out of their direct problem-description. So how can we as practitioners ensure, as much as is possible, that the client experiences the environment as safe for them and in particular that the neurodivergent client feels safe.
Now naturally the stance that we take in all of our clinical work should begin to create a context which should allow people to relax and to feel at their ease (to some extent). We choose to assume that everyone who comes to see us has come for a good reason. We choose to assume that our clients are the experts in their own lives. We choose to assume that our clients are competent. We choose to assume that our clients have resources which will be central to the change process. We choose to assume that our clients will already be doing much that is ‘good for them’ and which they might choose to do more. The stance in other words is intrinsically appreciative and implicitly congratulatory. And of course the worker works from a position of not-knowing, asking questions which form the basis for a changed narrative.
And in addition, here are 6 tiny ideas that emerged from our talking on the course last week:
- Explain the rationale for the questions that we ask. Why are we asking these particular questions and what is the purpose of them? When people experience unfamiliarity and uncertainty it can result in anxiety which of course makes it more difficult for people to focus on and to work with the questions that we ask.
- Invite people to ‘take control’ in the sense of ‘please feel free to tell me if you feel that I am going too fast’ or ‘please feel free to tell me if you could do with a break during the meeting’.
- Check it out. During the course of the conversation stop and process from time to time – ‘is this OK?’, ‘am I going too fast?’, ‘do you need a break?’, ‘is this making sense?’.
- Consider the length of the session. Not every session has to last 60 (or 55) minutes? Is 60 minutes too long? Would 30 minutes work better? Would 30 minutes feel more manageable?
- Consider the format. Is sitting in a room face-to-face comfortable for the client or is it pressurising? Going for a walk together may work better?
- Eye-contact. If we are sitting in a room does sitting opposite the client feel comfortable for them? Perhaps both sitting side-by-side at a table with paper in front of you both and ‘doodling’ might work better.
These are the thoughts that came up in our discussion last week but I would be really pleased to hear from you about what you have been doing that works in this field. Please share your (better than mine) ideas.
Bliss, E. Veronica and Edmonds, Genevieve (2008) A Self-Determined Future with Aspergers Syndrome: solution focused approaches. London: Jessica Kingsley.
George, Evan. (2024) Tone-matching. https://www.brief.org.uk/blog/%E2%80%98tone-matching.%E2%80%99.html
Mattelin E., Volckaert, H. (2017) Autism and Solution Focused Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Evan George
London
19 October 2025
