The BRIEF Certificate in Solution Focused Practice (on-line)

Solution Focused Practice refers to a conversational process for generating positive change. It can be used as therapy, coaching, team building, in fact, in any situation where improvement is being sought. The BRIEF Certificate course will focus primarily on therapy and coaching but will be flexible enough to stretch to other arenas in order to meet course members individual needs.

Solution Focused Practice can be summarised as four questions each of which is the starting point for a series of supplementary questions which, put together, make a Solution Focused conversation.

1. What are your best hopes from our talking?
   This part of the conversation is intended to clarify the client’s desired outcome and until this is agreed no further questions are possible.

2. Imagine that you wake up tomorrow and all your hopes from our talking have been realised what will be different in your life?
   This part of the conversation seeks to draw out as detailed a description as possible of the client’s life if the desired outcome is achieved.
   
   
3. Let’s have a 0 – 10 scale where 10 = your desired outcome has been achieved and 0 = the opposite where would you say you are now?
   This question begins that part of the conversation aimed at discovering what the client is already doing or has done in the past that might prove helpful in achieving the hoped-for future.
   
   
4. What’s better?
   This is the question we ask at the beginning of second and subsequent sessions. It seeks to discover and build on anything the client has done which might be seen as part of the desired future.

Each of these questions has an infinite number of variations which together make a new language for therapists and coaches. In that sense the Certificate Course will be like a language course with Foundation Level 1 laying out the basic structure, Level 2 as conversational practice and Level 3 as conversation: fluent enough to be a Solution Focused therapist, counsellor or coach.

Additional Requirements

Supervision

Candidates for the Certificate will need to attend six hours of supervision and for this purpose BRIEF has organised a series of one-and-a-half hour supervision groups.

Case Study

Candidates will need to submit a 2000-2500 description of a first session of Solution Focused work with a client demonstrating competence in the essential skills: defining a desired outcome, describing a preferred future and recognising progress already made.