Unleash the power of sharing and generosity! Contribute to SFiO in 2024 to help our initiatives flourish!

research

The man behind the mirror behind the mirror at BFTC

Mark McKergow & Gale Miller Abstract Professor Gale Miller is a member of the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University, Milwaukee. He is interested in research around issues involv- ing language and social problems, and was involved as a researcher with Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and their team at the Brief Family Therapy Centre during the evolution of what we now know as SF therapy. These observations led to his book Becoming Miracle Workers: Language and Meaning in Brief Therapy (1997).

Supporting Clients Solution Building Process by Subtly Eliciting Positive Behaviour Descriptions and Expectations of Beneficial Change

Coert Visser & Gwenda-Schlundt-Bodien Abstract SF co-developer Steve de Shazer wrote, in his classic publi- cations Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy (1985) and Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy (1988), that SF prac- titioners should help their clients create an expectation of beneficial change by getting a description of what they would do differently once the problem was solved. Also, he claimed subtle and implicit interventions by the SF practitioner would work best.

Solution-Focused Interviewing Protocols as Evolutionary Algorithms

paolo-terni Abstract Darwin’s algorithm has been shown to be Nature’s way of exploring the “solution space” for problems related to survival and reproduction. This paper shows how SF conver- sations (as used in therapy and brief coaching) can be framed as a Darwinian algorithm to explore the “solution space” for the problems clients bring to the session. Evolutionists can stride across human-related subjects at the highest level of intellectual discourse, in the same way that evolutionary biologists are already accustomed to striding across biological subjects (Wilson, 2007, p.

SF research initiatives

karen-de-waele, Joe Chan We met Karen De Waele at the SF in a Large-Scale Context Unconference in December 2019 and she inspired us to start this new section of our InterAction journal, sharing Research Initiatives in organisational contexts. She is calling for your support in connecting her to organisations for her project. Contributor Joe Chan from Singapore also has a research project underway and we include his summary below.

Applying a solution-focused approach in counselling

Sirkkaliisa Heimonen & John Brooker Introduced by John Brooker Lessons for Organisations Practitioners use Solution Focus in different disciplines, including (but not limited to therapy, counselling, individual coaching, team coaching, organisational and supra organisational development. This article serves as a reminder that these disciplines often overlap and that it is important to keep cross-pollinating knowledge between them. Sirkkaliisa Heimonen and her colleagues have been researching the impact on individuals with mild cognitive impairment and early-onset dementia while at work.

The Brain and the Impact of Solution Focus Questions

Dr. Rachel Gillibrand & Dr. Adam S. Froerer & Mia Lunde Introduced by paut-kromkamp As enthusiasts of the solution-focused approach, therapy or otherwise, we know it works. Our clients often tell us it works. But do we understand how it works; really understand? We know quite a bit about what works; we constantly look for that adage, ‘When something works, do more of it.’ And we know quite a bit about with whom it works; that is, with almost anyone and in virtually any situation - though people unfamiliar with Solution Focus (SF) often find that hard to grasp.

The Brain and the Impact of Solution Focus Questions

Dr. Rachel Gillibrand & Dr. Adam S. Froerer & Mia Lunde Introduced by paut-kromkamp As enthusiasts of the solution-focused approach, therapy or otherwise, we know it works. Our clients often tell us it works. But do we understand how it works; really understand? We know quite a bit about what works; we constantly look for that adage, ‘When something works, do more of it.’ And we know quite a bit about with whom it works; that is, with almost anyone and in virtually any situation - though people unfamiliar with Solution Focus (SF) often find that hard to grasp.