Solution Focused Brief Therapy is like Whack a Mole

Let me tell you quick story. This past weekend I was scheduled to lecture about the Solution Focused Approach at a large national conference. Leading up to this event I was very excited. I was going to be teaching with one of my very best friends, plus this event was not specifically for a solution focused audience.

I enjoy teaching SFBT to just about anyone, but there is an added layer of excitement when I get to teach students who are just learning about this approach or experienced clinicians who may have extensive training in another approach but not so much in the Solution Focused way of working. Both would be the case at this past weekend’s event.

One of the things I like about teaching to the above mentioned audiences is the opportunity to dispel many myths that exist about this approach. These myths are almost always negative and inaccurate but, yet, somehow they exist. I have heard people say things like “this approach isn’t supported by research”, in spite of both SAMSHA and NAMI listing it as evidenced based. I’ve heard people say that it is a “Band-Aid” approach, in spite of the fact that there are many studies that demonstrate that this approach has been effective with serious diagnosis and over a long period of time.

However, what I heard this past weekend was by far the most ridiculous thing thus far. Once my part of the conference was completed, I decided to stay for the remainder of the event. One day, as I was walking through the main hall of the conference, someone approached me and asked if I was the Solution Focused guy. When I said I was, they explained to me that a professor had told a friend of theirs that SFBT was “Whack a Mole” therapy and, thus, they would never go to a training geared towards this approach.

I was furious! It drives me nuts that people hold such beliefs and opinions of this approach even though there is a significant body of research to the contrary. I was furious, but more than that I was shocked, and even more than that I was motivated. I have been driven to spread the word and efficacy of SFBT thoughout the psychotherapy field. After this experience, I see there is still a lot of work to do.

Elliott