1. What are your best hopes from our talking together?
Paul Hanton: Clinical project lead.
M.A. SFBT
Reg. MBACP (Accred.)

2. Preferred future, not problem past.
“What are your best hopes from our talking together?” An opening question in solution focused brief therapy. “I don’t want to be known as Julie who beat anorexia, I want to be known as Julie the social work student”. Statement from a person accessing psychological services in UK.

3. Why solution focused brief therapy?
Firstly, I am not an SF salesperson....and, you do not have to agree with what I say, it's ok.
My background of being ‘therapped’ at Uni.
Working in Kings Cross
SF is open, explicit and collaborative
Can’t do the full SF explanation in this time…so……just regarding SF language....

4. Solution focused language use.
Is enquiring 
Is non judgemental
Is description inviting
Is observational rather than behavioural
Is minimalistic, or, focused, and purposeful
Is future focused
Moves towards something, rather than away from

5. A comparison of openings (not ‘wrong’ or right, just different); and, I don’t know every opening question in 400+ therapies!
Generic helping professions and/or counselling
Means, maybe....
Solution focused
How can I be of help, be helpful? etc.
Worker in position of expert, advises, directs?
“What are your best hopes from our talking together?”
See what you think at the end, we will come back to it.
What brings you here today, what seems to be the problem? etc.
Symptom, problem identification leading to ‘fixing’ needed?

6. Break down the question
“What are your best hopes from our talking together?”

7. Back to slide 5 
You tell me! Very happy to answer questions.