Uk

Chris Iveson worked as family therapist and social worker before he co-founded – together with Evan George and Harvey Ratner - the BRIEF therapy practice in London. The long-lasting cooperation with Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and their many innovations in SF practice have made BRIEF a leading center for the development and teaching of SF Brief Therapy and Coaching. Chris has authored several books, among them “Brief Coaching. A Solution Focused Approach”.

Dave McKenna is a solution focussed practitioner with 20 years local government experience and a PhD in local politics, based in the UK. He specialise in public governance; particularly local government scrutiny, partnership working, public participation and digital democracy. He helps councils and other public bodies with improvement, design and research work. He is an active member of Notwestminster - a volunteer network of people who want to redesign local democracy.

I am Professor of Sustainable Business at the University of Southampton, UK. I have published widely in the academic realm and also in fiction. My eco-themed rom-com ‘Habitat Man’ was published in 2021, followed by ‘the Assassin’ and ‘No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save the Planet’ in 2022. My most recent research explores the use of storytelling to promote green behaviours, looking at how readers respond to eco-themed stories. In 2018, I set up the Green Stories Writing project that challenges writers to embed green solutions in their stories via a series of free writing competitions. These are open to all, and 20 competitions have been run so far, which have resulted in several publications.

Edwin is a Master Solution Focus Practitioner (IASTI) and also a Solution Focused Coach certified at the PCC level (ICF). Edwin co-founded Centre for Fathering in Singapore, which won the best new initiative award in year 2000, to inspire dads to be more involved with their children. He appeared numerous times on radio and conferences to speak on fathering issues in Singapore. He delights in equipping dads to be a coach to their children.

Evan George is a co-owner of BRIEF. He set up BRIEF in 1989 with Chris Iveson and Harvey Ratner and they have worked together ever since. Their core interest has been not just the solution focused approach itself but also the remarkable differences that the application of the approach can make to people’s lives, to organisations, to performance, to well-being, to energy and to creativity in teams. And all of this achieved within strikingly short time-spans.

Gill is the manager of Learning Space, a children and young people’s mental health charity based in Surrey, England. She is a trained secondary school teacher with a background in special educational needs. Gill achieved her MA in Emotional Factors in Learning and Teaching at the Tavistock and Portman Clinic. She is one of the founding members of the Learning Space team and has been using solution-focused approaches to support children, young people and families since the beginning of the charity in 1997.

Greg has been using the Solution Focused approach for over ten years now with a particular focus on family work. He is currently the Training Team lead in the D-BIT service within Essex Social Care, where he helps to keep families together where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Greg is a published author, and he is also a co-founder of Solution Focused Possibilities where he provides sessions, supervision, training, etc. Greg has a passion for supporting others to develop their practice to a high standard, which has led to him being the co-lead for UKASFP Accreditation.

Guy Shennan is an independent solution-focused therapist, coach and trainer who has used the solution-focused approach for nearly 30 years. He is based in London, England, where he worked with BRIEF between 2004 and 2010. He created and co-led BRIEF’s Diploma in Solution-Focused Practice, which began in 2005. Guy trained originally as a social worker and was the Chair of the British Association of Social Workers from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, Guy co-founded the Solution-Focused Collective to explore ways of using solution-focused ideas and practices for social change.

I have two major passions in business: coaching, training and developing people to achieve their true potential excellence in dealing with people, both internally and externally, is the way to deliver sustainable increases in results

Dr Jacqueline Horan is an educational and child psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience across education and health settings, including work as a facilitator, teacher trainer, lecturer, and professional and research supervisor. Jacqueline has used Solution Focused approaches since 2000, with further training through Brief International and BRIEF London. For Jacqueline, the real gamechanger has been connecting with people across the SF community to pause, share and explore how Solution Focus works in the complexity of everyday life. She is still learning, still practising, and hopes one day to become a Solution Focused Jedi. Until then, “every day is a school day.”