What is solution focused approach in social work?

Answer 1

SFT refers to an approach characterized by focusing on the "solutions" rather than the "problems" clients come in with. So for example, a couple comes in because their marriage is failing; instead of asking what they feel like is going wrong, a therapist will engage them from the angle of "what would things look like if they were going how you would want them to" whether that's a return to a previous level of functioning (perhaps pre-kids or infidelity) or a change in the relationship dynamic that's existed all along. It's often characterized by the "miracle question" wherein a therapist will ask clients if a miracle occurred overnight and this problem just poofed, but you didn't know that this miracle had occurred, what would be your first clue that things had changed? And this becomes the client's "homework" for the next session.