Restoring the client’s choice of action

Mark McKergow, Anton Stellamans

Abstract

Dr. Luc Isebaert is a leading Belgian psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He is the founder of the Korzybski Institute. This Bruges-based institute started as a training centre in systemic Ericksonian psychotherapy. After the development of the Bruges Model, with attention to the context of choice for the patient and hence the focus on the goals, resources and exceptions of problem behaviour, Luc Isebaert discovered the work of Steve de Shazer. Recognising the links of the Bruges Model with Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Luc Isebaert subscribed to the tradition of Solutions Focus. Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg, Yvonne Dolan and others became members of the board of the Korzybski Institute and were regular guests in Bruges. The success of the Korzybski Institute indicates that SF will soon be the predominant model of therapy in Flanders. As a writer and trainer, Luc Isebaert also played an important role in introducing SF in the Nether- lands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. He is renowned for his work in the field of the treatment of alco- holism and depression, and is the author of Kurzzeittherapie – ein praktisches Handbuch. Die gesundheitsorientierte kognitive Therapie (Brief Therapy – a practical handbook. Health oriented cognitive therapy, Stuttgart: Georg Thieme Verlag).

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