What Are Solution Focused Therapy Questions?

Empowering Change Through Solution Focused Therapy Questions at Purpose Healing

Example Questions for Solution-Focused Therapy

A client’s ability to come up with a desired outcome and solution development depends on the types of questions that a therapist asks. The types of questions asked during individual or family therapy fall into one of several categories. Keep reading for a closer look at each.

Exception Questions: Focus on the What, Not the Why

Exception questions may be some of the easiest ones you’ll answer in SFBT. These questions allow you to think about the logistics of your situation: who, what, when, and where. Questions like these ground you in the situation without having to think about why things turned out the way that they did.

Like most of the questions included in solution-focused therapy, you can measure progress by looking at how these details relate to your overarching goals.

Examples of exception questions can include:

• What is different about today that the situation didn’t happen?
• If someone else were present on that day, why would he or she say that the situation didn’t happen?
• When was the last time the problem didn’t happen?

You won’t be able to pinpoint exactly why the situation didn’t happen as it usually did, but you can start to poke at the edges of the underlying issue.

Coping Questions: What to Do for Painful Situations

Sometimes, it might not be clear to the therapist whether you have any positive coping skills at your disposal when challenging situations come up. As a result, they might ask you some coping questions, such as what you could do in a painful or stressful scenario.

This is an opportunity for a therapist to call out strengths that they see in you and encourage you to think about the skills you have already mastered to make life easier. It can help in identifying resources that you could tap into when mental health challenges or substance use issues arise.

If you find that you have no coping skills through these exploratory questions, it might be a sign that you require a different type of therapy session for a little while to build up your skills.

Scaling Questions: Gaining Insight on Problems

Many clients are familiar with scaling questions when it comes to problem-focused therapy. You might not even realize that these questions are being implemented because they’re so common. A question from this category might ask you to rate your feelings on a scale of one to ten.

Other scaling questions are a bit less obvious. For example, you might rate your confidence that you could perform a specific skill or how likely you are to give in to temptation if you struggle with alcohol and drug use.

With a number clearly defined, it leads to more follow-up questions as you start investigating solutions.

Solution-Focused Miracle Question: Future Focus in an Ideal World

Once you become used to the solution-focused questions, you’ll notice that there is one question that might come up more than the others. Most therapists refer to this as the miracle question. It empowers clients to think about the positive aspects of their life and what it would look like to enhance them.

The goal of the miracle question is to get clients thinking about the what-ifs. Instead of training their focus on the challenges that come up, they’re free to think about what life would be like without them.

It’s often phrased as: If you woke up tomorrow in a perfect world where these barriers don’t exist, how would your life be different? How would you know that the miracle had happened to you?

Once you can answer the miracle question with a detailed description, you can start putting all the resources toward problem-solving instead of focusing on previous solutions that haven’t yet worked.

Follow-Up Questions: Expanding the Miracle and Taking Practical Steps

Chances are that the miracle question isn’t the end of your hard work on the presenting problems. It simply opens the door for you to explore positive behavior changes. A client’s situation might be very different when thinking of what a miracle would look like, so therapists can press in here.

You can take this time to explore what life would be like if the problem were solved. What would others notice about you? What would you notice right away if the miracle happened?

And perhaps most importantly: what is the first step you can take to get this miracle to happen in your life right away?

Follow-up questions are a great way to explore a client’s strengths and help them see areas for growth. While the question starts with a hypothetical miracle, it morphs into a plan for enacting real change in their life.

Get Accredited Treatment Programs at Purpose

Understanding the Benefits of Solution-Focused Therapy

If you’re wondering why you should consider mining your inner world for the gems that you can come up with during solution-focused brief therapy, there are real benefits. Your well-being could dramatically improve over the course of just a few sessions once you learn the techniques.

Here are some benefits you’ll see with SFBT as part of your treatment plan.

More Immediate Results for Stress Reduction

With all of this heavy lifting on interior work, most clients want to know when they will get to the point where their self-esteem will improve and they can manage stress in a healthier way. In other words, when will they see a subjective change to their well-being?

The good news is that research shows you might be on a faster path to feeling better with fewer sessions required when SFBT is utilized.

Traditional therapy often focuses on mining the past for the experiences that brought you to this point right now. These experiences shaped you, and learning from them can inform future decisions. But this isn’t the point of solution-focused therapy.

Instead, you start thinking about the solutions to your problem now, rather than analyzing how you ended up here. In many cases, your therapist may not even take a detailed history from you due to an intense focus on building up your skills to cope with everyday problems.

Managing Depression with SFBT

Other research shows that the efficacy of solution-focused therapy can aid in mental health in just a few sessions. In one experiment, cancer patients were assigned to two groups. One group received just eight sessions of solution-focused therapy while the other group received nothing.

At the conclusion of the study, the group that had received SFBT had lower depression ratings.

This proves that SFBT is more than just pop positive psychology. It has a real grounding that works wonders for people who are struggling with mental health and depression in a very short period of time.

Getting Holistic Help with Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Purpose Healing Center offers a robust approach to treatment for anyone struggling with mental health issues. Our clinical team believes in holistic care, starting with your individual therapy sessions. We will use a variety of techniques so that you get the skills and insight you need to make positive changes.

These are just a few of the reasons to consider our residential treatment program, where you can access SFBT.

Comprehensive and Customized Treatment Plans

We know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to your problem. Because your situation is unique, the therapeutic approach to improving your well-being should be too. We start every client with a very detailed assessment to see where we can aid most effectively.

Programs can provide everything from family therapy and group therapy to yoga and art therapies. We give you every opportunity to heal from the issues that brought you to care in the first place. Once you feel comfortable in your ability to manage stress, you can transition to a lower level of care with IOP or PHP services.