1001 Solution-Focused Questions

1. Solution-Focused Interviewing: A Paradigm Shift in Therapy

"Solutions involve doing something that is different from what didn't work before."

Paradigm shift. Solution-focused interviewing represents a fundamental shift from problem-focused approaches. Instead of dwelling on problems and their causes, it directs attention to solutions and desired outcomes. This approach assumes that clients have the inner resources to construct effective solutions to their problems.

Key principles:

• Focus on solutions, not problems
• Look for what's working, not what's wrong
• Build on clients' strengths and resources
• Use language that creates possibilities

By reframing conversations from problem-talk to solution-talk, therapists help clients envision and work towards a preferred future. This shift in perspective often leads to quicker, more sustainable changes and empowers clients to take an active role in their own healing process.

2. The Power of Goal Formulation and Future-Oriented Thinking

"To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination."

Clear goals drive change. Goal formulation is a cornerstone of solution-focused therapy. By helping clients articulate clear, specific, and achievable goals, therapists provide a roadmap for change. This process shifts the focus from past problems to future possibilities.

Effective goal formulation:

• Should be positive (what client wants, not what they don't want)
• Expressed in concrete, behavioral terms
• Realistic and attainable
• Meaningful to the client

Future-oriented thinking helps clients visualize their desired outcome and identify steps to achieve it. This approach taps into the client's motivation and hope, creating a positive expectancy that fuels progress throughout the therapy process.

3. Exceptions: Building Solutions from Existing Strengths

"Exceptions are those times when the problem could have occurred but didn't."

Leveraging successes. Exceptions are moments when the problem is absent or less severe. By identifying and amplifying these exceptions, therapists help clients recognize their existing strengths and resources. This process builds confidence and provides a foundation for developing solutions.

Finding exceptions:

• Ask about times when the problem doesn't occur
• Explore what's different during those times
• Identify what the client is doing differently
• Encourage the client to do more of what works

Focusing on exceptions shifts the narrative from one of constant problems to one of intermittent successes. This reframing helps clients see themselves as capable of change and provides concrete strategies for moving forward.

4. Scaling Questions: Measuring Progress and Motivating Change

"On a scale of 10 to 0, where 10 means that the problem that brings you here has been (sufficiently) solved or your goal has been reached, and 0 is the worst moment you've experienced, where are you now?"

Concrete measurement. Scaling questions provide a simple yet powerful tool for measuring progress and motivating change. By quantifying abstract concepts, they make progress tangible and help clients recognize even small improvements.

Using scaling questions:

• Establish a baseline at the start of therapy
• Regularly reassess to track progress
• Explore what a small improvement would look like
• Identify steps to move up the scale

Scaling questions also serve as a communication tool, helping clients articulate their experiences and goals more clearly. They provide a shared language for discussing progress and setting incremental goals throughout the therapy process.

5. The Miracle Question: Visualizing the Preferred Future

"Suppose you're asleep tonight and a miracle happens. The miracle is that the problem that brings you here has been solved (to a sufficient degree). You are unaware of this, however, because you are asleep. How would you first notice tomorrow morning that a miracle has happened?"

Imagination as catalyst. The miracle question is a powerful technique for helping clients envision their preferred future. By bypassing current limitations and obstacles, it allows clients to articulate their goals in vivid, concrete terms.

Benefits of the miracle question:

• Helps clients articulate goals they might struggle to express directly
• Provides a detailed picture of the desired outcome
• Identifies small, achievable steps towards the goal
• Builds hope and motivation for change

The miracle question often reveals solutions and resources that clients hadn't previously considered. It shifts the focus from problem-solving to solution-building, opening up new possibilities for change.

6. Client as Expert: Empowering Change Through Collaboration

"The client is the expert. In the solution-focused model, one talks about the 'client' and sometimes about the 'customer'—not about the 'patient,' as one does in the medical model."

Collaborative approach. Solution-focused therapy views the client as the expert on their own life and experiences. The therapist's role is to facilitate the discovery and implementation of solutions, rather than to diagnose and prescribe.

Implications of client as expert:

• Therapist adopts a stance of curiosity and not-knowing
• Questions are used to elicit the client's expertise
• Client's strengths and resources are emphasized
• Solutions are co-constructed, not imposed

This approach empowers clients, increasing their sense of agency and ownership over the change process. It also recognizes that clients often have untapped resources and knowledge that can be mobilized to address their concerns.

7. Motivation and the Cooperative Relationship: Visitor, Complainant, Customer

"Resistance implies that the client does not want to change and that the professional is at a remove from the client. It is better to approach the client from a position of cooperation than from a position of resistance, power, and control."

Tailored approach. Solution-focused therapy recognizes different levels of client motivation and tailors interventions accordingly. The visitor-complainant-customer framework helps therapists match their approach to the client's readiness for change.

Three relationship types:

• Visitor: No perceived problem or desire for change
• Complainant: Recognizes problem but sees others as needing to change
• Customer: Recognizes problem and is willing to work on change

By meeting clients where they are, therapists can build a cooperative relationship that enhances motivation and engagement. This approach replaces the concept of "resistance" with a focus on collaboration and mutual respect.

8. Brief Therapy: Every Session as Potentially the Last

"In theory, every session is considered the final session."

Efficiency and empowerment. Solution-focused brief therapy operates on the principle that change can happen quickly and that every session should be treated as potentially the last. This approach encourages efficiency and empowers clients to take charge of their progress.

Implications of brief therapy:

• Focus on rapid change and immediate progress
• Clear goals and measurable outcomes
• Emphasis on client's resources and strengths
• Flexibility in session frequency and duration

By treating each session as potentially the last, therapists maintain a sense of urgency and purpose. This approach often leads to more focused, productive sessions and quicker resolution of client concerns.

9. Offering Hope: A Crucial Element in Therapeutic Success

"There are two situations that may lead to feelings of hopelessness: One may feel insecure because one fears that things will change in an undesired way, or one may feel that change is exactly what is needed but be afraid that nothing will ever change."

Hope as catalyst. Offering hope is a crucial element in therapeutic success. By fostering a positive expectancy for change, therapists can significantly enhance client motivation and outcomes.

Strategies for offering hope:

• Focus on client strengths and past successes
• Highlight small improvements and changes
• Use future-oriented language and questions
• Normalize setbacks as part of the change process

Hope theory suggests that hope involves both the belief in one's ability to reach goals (agency) and the ability to generate pathways to those goals. Solution-focused therapy cultivates both aspects, helping clients develop a more hopeful outlook on their situation and their capacity for change.

10. Solution-Focused Techniques for Specific Situations and Clients

"Externalizing the problem can help the client see the problem as something that is separate from him or her—something that influences the client, to be sure, but that doesn't always and everywhere control his or her life."

Versatile toolkit. Solution-focused therapy offers a range of techniques that can be adapted for specific situations and client populations. These tools allow therapists to tailor their approach to diverse needs and contexts.

Key techniques:

• Externalizing the problem
• Projection into the future
• Interactional matrix
• Scaling questions for specific issues
• Techniques for working with children and groups

By mastering these techniques, therapists can flexibly respond to a wide range of client needs and situations. The adaptability of solution-focused approaches makes them valuable in various therapeutic contexts, from individual therapy to family and organizational settings.

11. Reflecting on Sessions: Continuous Improvement for Therapists

"The solution-focused professional always asks him- or herself a number of solution-focused questions at the end of a session."

Self-reflection for growth. Continuous reflection on therapeutic sessions is crucial for professional development and improving client outcomes. Solution-focused therapists apply the same principles to their own practice that they use with clients.

Reflection strategies:

• Use scaling questions to assess personal performance
• Seek client feedback on session effectiveness
• Engage in peer consultation and supervision
• Apply solution-focused questions to professional challenges

By consistently reflecting on their work, therapists can identify areas for improvement, celebrate successes, and maintain a growth mindset. This process of continuous learning and adaptation is key to providing effective, client-centered therapy.

12. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

"CBT and solution-focused brief therapy can be seen as two sides of the same behavioral therapeutic coin."

Integrated approach. Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) can be viewed as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), sharing many theoretical underpinnings and practical approaches. This perspective allows for integration of SFBT principles into established CBT frameworks.

Similarities between SFBT and CBT:

• Focus on changing thoughts and behaviors
• Use of homework assignments
• Emphasis on measurable goals and outcomes
• Application of learning principles

By recognizing SFBT as a form of CBT, therapists can draw on the strengths of both approaches, creating a flexible, effective therapeutic model. This integration broadens the toolkit available to therapists and enhances their ability to meet diverse client needs.

Last updated: January 22, 2025