![Three shallow stone steps rising from a garden towards a lit opening in a wall](https://viacara.com/img/content/approaches-solution-focused-brief-therapy-feature-light.webp)

# Solution-focused brief therapy

Learn what solution-focused brief therapy is, how its questions work, how brief it really is and what the research does and does not show.

## What is solution-focused brief therapy?

Solution-focused brief therapy is a short talking therapy about where you want to get to. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy describes it as setting goals and working out how to reach them.

It faces forward. BACP says the therapy is about the future rather than the past. It asks you to look at what you can do.

Your history still comes up. A BACP member therapist describes going into the past only as far as is needed to understand your concerns.

Source: [BACP: solution-focused therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-1)

## Where it comes from

The approach was built in the United States. The United Kingdom Association for Solution Focused Practice traces it to Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. They worked at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee through the 1980s.

It started from a plain observation. Chris Iveson writes that it grew from an interest in the inconsistencies found in problem behaviour.

Iveson calls the result exceptions. However fixed a problem looks, he says there are always times it does not happen.

Sources: [UKASFP: solution focused practice](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-3), [Iveson 2002](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-2)

## The *questions* it uses

The authors of a 2023 review call the miracle question a core technique. It asks you to imagine that overnight a miracle resolved the problem. What would you notice the next day?

Questions that explore *possibilities*

- **Preferred future** The miracle question explores what life would look like if the problem were resolved.
- **Exceptions** The therapist asks about times when the problem was absent or different.
- **Scales** The client uses a scale to describe their position in relation to their goals.

Solution-focused work explores goals and exceptions. Unlike a general strengths-based stance, it names specific conversational techniques.

Then come scales. Iveson describes a scale of zero to ten, where ten means your goals are met. You say where you sit on it now.

Your therapist also asks about the better days. BACP calls these exception questions, about times when things have been different.

The authors of a 2023 review found this search for exceptions in most of the papers they read.

Sources: [Jerome et al. 2023](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-4), [Iveson 2002](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-2), [BACP: solution-focused therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-1)

## What *sessions* look like

Sessions are a conversation, and most of it is about what you want more of. A BACP member therapist describes exploring how your life will look once your concerns are resolved.

Your therapist listens for what is already working. An NHS service describes using that to identify the strengths you already have.

A traditional session has a pause in it. De Shazer and Berg described the therapist taking a break. They return with a compliment and a suggested task.

Sources: [BACP: solution-focused therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-1), [Sheffield Children's: BSFT](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-5), [Jerome et al. 2023](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-4)

## How *brief* it is

There is no fixed length. The authors of a 2024 review state that the model itself defines no number of sessions.

The figures quoted come from different places. BACP says people normally have between five and eight sessions. One NHS children's service offers up to six, usually a fortnight apart.

Research trials have been shorter and longer than that. The 2024 review found trials running from one session to twelve.

Sources: [Vermeulen-Oskam et al. 2024](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-6), [BACP: solution-focused therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-1), [Sheffield Children's: BSFT](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-5)

![An archway in a garden wall with a stone path continuing into the hills beyond](https://viacara.com/img/content/approaches-solution-focused-brief-therapy-mid-light.webp)

The work starts from what you want more of, not from what went wrong

## Who it might *suit*

It can be a good fit if you:

- Know roughly what you want and would like help getting there
- Would rather not go back over your history in detail
- Have only a handful of sessions available to you
- Notice that some days already go better than others
- Want something practical with a clear end in sight
- Found that a previous therapy kept circling old ground

It may suit you less well if you want to know why a pattern keeps repeating. That question is the starting point of [psychodynamic therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/psychodynamic/) instead.

Your goal may sit outside mental health, such as a change of job. In that case [coaching](https://viacara.com/approaches/coaching/) may fit better. Coaching is not a therapy.

## Strengths-based *therapy*

You may see a professional describe their work as strengths-based. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence defines these approaches by what they look at. They focus on what people have, rather than on what they lack.

Looking at *resources*

- **Personal abilities** The professional explores what the person can do and what matters to them.
- **People and support** They consider relationships and sources of support.
- **Community resources** They look at resources in the person's wider surroundings.

Strengths-based describes a way of working, not one therapy. This framework comes from social work and social care.

It is a stance rather than a named therapy. The Department of Health and Social Care calls it a philosophy. It describes a way of seeing people as resourceful.

Definitions vary, and the same handbook says there are many of them. The UK guidance that defines the term sits in social work and social care.

So treat it as a description of how someone works, not as a therapy you can be referred to. Ask a professional who uses the word what it changes about their sessions.

Sources: [NICE NG216](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-11), [DHSC: strengths-based approach](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-12)

## The *evidence*

A 2024 review pooled 72 studies. Its authors report a large overall effect on psychosocial problems.

The same authors report smaller effects in settings closer to real care. The effect was smaller in clinical samples than in others. It was smaller again when the comparison was usual care.

They also look at what does not reach print. Unpublished studies averaged almost no effect, while published ones averaged a large one. The authors say publication bias cannot be ruled out, and ask readers to treat the results with caution.

A 2025 umbrella review graded the evidence condition by condition. Its authors found high confidence for depression, overall mental health and progress towards personal goals in adults.

The same authors say more rigorous research is still needed to provide evidence for the brevity of the therapy.

NICE does not name solution-focused therapy in its guidance on depression or anxiety. NHS talking therapies services do not list it among the therapies they offer.

If you are weighing up a few options, our [guide to the different approaches](https://viacara.com/guides/understanding-approaches/) sets them side by side.

Sources: [Vermeulen-Oskam et al. 2024](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-6), [Żak & Pękala 2025](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-7), [NICE NG222](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-8), [NICE CG113](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-9), [NHS: talking therapies](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#ref-10)

On this page

[What is solution-focused brief therapy?](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#what-is-solution-focused-brief-therapy) [Where it comes from](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#where-it-comes-from) [The questions it uses](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#the-questions-it-uses) [What sessions look like](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#what-sessions-look-like) [How brief it is](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#how-brief-it-is) [Who it might suit](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#who-it-might-suit) [Strengths-based therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#strengths-based-therapy) [The evidence](https://viacara.com/approaches/solution-focused-brief-therapy/#the-evidence)

Related

[Coaching](https://viacara.com/approaches/coaching/) [Narrative Therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/narrative-therapy/) [Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)](https://viacara.com/approaches/cbt/) [Counselling](https://viacara.com/approaches/counselling/) [Understanding Different Approaches](https://viacara.com/guides/understanding-approaches/) [Finding the Right Support](https://viacara.com/guides/finding-a-practitioner/)

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## References

1. British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2025). *Solution-focused brief therapy*. [bacp.co.uk](https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/solution-focused-brief-therapy/)
2. Iveson, C. (2002). *Solution-focused brief therapy*. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. [doi:10.1192/apt.8.2.149](https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.8.2.149)
3. United Kingdom Association for Solution Focused Practice (2025). *What is solution focused practice?*. [members.ukasfp.org](https://members.ukasfp.org/page/WhatisSF)
4. Jerome, L., McNamee, P., Abdel-Halim, N., Elliot, K. & Woods, J. (2023). *Solution-focused approaches in adult mental health research: a conceptual literature review and narrative synthesis*. Frontiers in Psychiatry. [doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1068006](https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1068006)
5. Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust (2024). *Brief solution focussed therapy*. [library.sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk](https://library.sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk/brief-solution-focussed-therapy/)
6. Vermeulen-Oskam, E., Franklin, C., Van't Hof, L. P. M., Stams, G. J. J. M., van Vugt, E. S., Assink, M., Veltman, E. J., Froerer, A. S., Staaks, J. P. C. & Zhang, A. (2024). *The current evidence of solution-focused brief therapy: a meta-analysis of psychosocial outcomes and moderating factors*. Clinical Psychology Review. [doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102512](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102512)
7. Żak, A. M. & Pękala, K. (2025). *Effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: an umbrella review*. Psychotherapy Research. [doi:10.1080/10503307.2024.2406540](https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2024.2406540)
8. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022). *Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)*. [nice.org.uk](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng222)
9. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2020). *Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management (CG113)*. [nice.org.uk](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg113)
10. National Health Service (2025). *NHS talking therapies*. [nhs.uk](https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/talking-therapies/)
11. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2022). *Social work with adults experiencing complex needs (NG216)*. [nice.org.uk](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng216)
12. Department of Health and Social Care (2019). *Strengths-based approach: practice framework and practice handbook*. [assets.publishing.service.gov.uk (PDF)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778134/stengths-based-approach-practice-framework-and-handbook.pdf)

## Related

### [Coaching](https://viacara.com/approaches/coaching/)

Learn how coaching works, what the main coaching styles are, how it differs from therapy and how to tell whether a coach is the right person for you.

### [Narrative Therapy](https://viacara.com/approaches/narrative-therapy/)

Learn how narrative therapy separates you from the problem, what sessions and letters look like, who it suits and what the research shows.

### [Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)](https://viacara.com/approaches/cbt/)

Learn how CBT works, what happens in sessions and what NICE says about it, and read about its forms for sleep, pain and self-help.

### [Counselling](https://viacara.com/approaches/counselling/)

Learn what counselling is, what sessions look like, how it differs from CBT and psychotherapy and how to find a counsellor on a recognised register.

### [Understanding Different Approaches](https://viacara.com/guides/understanding-approaches/)

A plain-English guide to the main therapeutic approaches including CBT, person-centred therapy, psychodynamic and integrative methods.

### [Finding the Right Support](https://viacara.com/guides/finding-a-practitioner/)

A practical guide to finding a mental health practitioner who fits your needs, preferences and budget.