1st Edition
Working with Solution Focused Brief Therapy in Healthcare Settings A Practical Guide
Solution focused brief therapy is an evidence-based approach that enables people to make meaningful change in their everyday lives. This book shares ideas on how speech and language therapists and others working in medical settings can integrate SFBT into their therapeutic interactions to support clients handling acute or chronic health conditions. It outlines core aspects of the approach in an accessible format, bridging the gap between theory and practice, and provides guidance on adapting SFBT for clients living with communication disabilities. There are suggestions for different clinical situations, with real-life case examples drawn from working with people living with Parkinson’s disease, stroke, motor neurone disease, cancer and chronic pain.
Combining practical advice with photocopiable resources, this book covers:
- Establishing person-centred, holistic goals for therapy
- Future focused descriptions
- Building on a person’s resources and successes
- Responding to distress
- Supervision and support
This accessible book can be read as an introductory text for those new to this approach and will also be invaluable to clinicians who have already received some training in SFBT. It is likely to become a trusted resource, supporting allied health professionals and others to ensure their therapy is grounded in client priorities.
Chapter One: What is solution focused brief therapy? Chapter Two: Establishing the desired outcome Chapter Three: Future focused descriptions Chapter Four: Getting descriptions of past and future progress Chapter Five: Compliments, ownership and ending a session Chapter Six: Follow up sessions Chapter Seven: Responding to distress, and the role of the AHP Chapter Eight: SFBT and adults with an acquired language disability Chapter Nine: Supervision and support Exercises Exercise: practising your SF thinking with a referral to a multidisciplinary stroke team Exercises for our clients Solution Focused Mindset Appendix A: Ten minute talk, record of supervision Appendix B: Crib sheet of standard SFBT questions Index References
Biography
Kidge Burns is a Speech and Language Therapist who worked in an NHS hospital setting for 23 years. Since 1997, she has used SFBT to help clients with acute and chronic physical ill health, writing chapters and articles on her work and publishing Focus on Solutions: A Health Professional’s Guide (2nd ed., 2016). She completed the BRIEF Diploma in 2006 and was part of the working party involved in setting up the accreditation scheme for the UK Association for Solution Focused Practice (UKASFP). Kidge has trained health professionals in SFBT throughout the UK and provides therapy and supervision to individuals as a Solution Focused Practitioner.
Sarah Northcott is a Senior Lecturer in speech and language therapy at City, University of London. After qualifying as a Speech and Language Therapist, she initially worked in community services, before completing a PhD. Her research interests lie in exploring ways to support the emotional and social wellbeing of people living with stroke and aphasia. In 2016, she received the Stroke Association Jack and Averil (Mansfield) Bradley Fellowship Award for Stroke Research, which enabled her to lead the Solution Focused brief therapy In post-stroke Aphasia (SOFIA) trial. Sarah has also completed a diploma in Solution Focused Brief Therapy at BRIEF, London.
'Kidge Burns and Sarah Northcott’s wonderful book exploring Solution Focused Brief Therapy and its application to the field of speech and language and to the work of allied heath professionals is clear, well-structured and rooted in practice with case examples and lists of questions that practitioners will find immediately useful and relevant. Kidge and Sarah’s book will convince readers that this approach can be used, indeed has particular relevance, for people facing life-changing conditions where there can be no simple solutions. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to those working both within and beyond healthcare settings, in fact to anyone looking for an introduction to the Solution Focused approach.'
Evan George, Co-director BRIEF www .brief .org .uk and co-author of Solution Focused Brief Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques and Brief Coaching: A Solution Focused Approach (both with Chris Iveson and Harvey Ratner)
'What impressed me most about this book is the authors depth of knowledge and experience. On one hand it is a thorough introduction to solution focused brief therapy. On the other hand it is a book useful to any professional wanting to find ways of collaborating in the most challenging situations imaginable, be it with people with aphasia or people with any difficulties in communication. For practitioners working with people living with aphasia and brain damage it is a must read.'
Harry Korman, MD, Child Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist SIKT Malmo, Sweden
'Working with Solution Focused Brief Therapy in Healthcare Settings: A Practical Guide is a unique and important contribution for solution focused professionals. This book helps practitioners understand how to work with situations that appear unchangeable and overwhelming. Even though this book is focused on helping with situations in the medical arena, the focus on the SF mindset and the practical exercises are useful for all professionals. This book increases understanding that SF can fit for all individuals and can produce meaningful change, even with the most difficult circumstances. This book uses actual case material to walk clinicians through how to stay solution-focused while adapting the approach to meet the unique needs of each person seeking help. The emphasis on adapting the language of the approach, making things visual and acknowledging the distress of individuals is paramount for all worthwhile work. All SF clinicians would benefit from reading and internalizing this book!'
Adam Froerer, Ph.D., LMFT Atlanta, Georgia, USA
'This book is aimed at any therapist wanting to work in a client-centred, solution-oriented way, whether they are already familiar with the Solution Focused approached or not. It starts with a thorough introduction to the origins, principles, and development of the approach, along with evidence of its effacacy. It goes on to describe Solution Focused Brief Therapy in practice, with many real-life case examples and reflections, drawing on the authors' extensive experience. Summary sheets are included at the end. The book is clearly set out, practical and very easy to read. I found it inspirational.'
Emma Osei-Mensah, Independant SLT and Solution Focused Practitioner
