Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Families: A Training Manual

This step-by-step training manual guides readers through the clinical practice of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) for use with families.

This book presents SFBT to family psychologists and other therapists and health care professionals in related fields in an easy to learn format that provides specific clinical skills and case examples to enhance learning. It provides an overview of SFBT, a brief history of its origins, underlying theory and research, and session sequencing and tools for using the SFBT approach with families, and teaches the reader how to conduct an SFBT session from beginning to end.

Detailed procedures and case examples in this book illustrate practice with diverse clients in clinical and counseling settings, including the challenges therapists may face in working with families and how to avoid roadblocks in therapy. Readers will gain valuable insights and practical guidance in how to use this effective approach to therapeutic change.

Cynthia Franklin, PhD, is the Director of External Relations and is the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Trained as a family therapist, Dr. Franklin has championed family-and strengths-based mental health interventions since the start of her clinical work more than 40 years ago. Throughout her 30+ years in academia, she has continued practicing as a mental health and family therapist in her areas of expertise. Dr. Franklin is an internationally recognized expert on solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) and mental health in K-12 school contexts. She has devoted her career to advancing the practice of SFBT and expanding research on SFBT, with the aim of helping children, adolescents, and teachers in schools.

Johnny Kim, PhD, LCSW, is a professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. Dr. Kim received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and was a Council on Social Work Education Minority Clinical Fellow. His teaching areas include clinical social work theory and practice, solution-focused brief therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and school social work. Dr. Kim’s research focuses on evaluating solution-focused brief therapy, school-based interventions, meta-analysis, and evidence-based practice. He has authored over 50 academic publications including four books. Dr. Kim is the chair of the Research Committee for the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association and serves on the editorial board for several journals. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked as a school social worker and case manager for community-based mental health agencies in Seattle.