英文原文
What is Solution-Focused Therapy: 3 Essential Techniques
Solution-focused therapy, also called solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), is a type of therapy that places far more importance on discussing solutions than problems. Of course, you must discuss the problem to find a solution, but beyond understanding what the problem is and deciding how to address it, solution-focused therapy will not dwell on every detail of the problem you are experiencing.
Solution-focused brief therapy doesn’t require a deep dive into your childhood and the ways in which your past has influenced your present. Instead, it will root your sessions firmly in the present while working toward a future in which your current problems have less of an impact on your life.
This solution-centric form of therapy grew out of the field of family therapy in the 1980s. Creators Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg noticed that most therapy sessions were spent discussing symptoms, issues, and problems. De Shazer and Berg saw an opportunity for quicker relief from negative symptoms in a new form of therapy that emphasized quick, specific problem-solving rather than an ongoing discussion of the problem itself.
The word “brief” in solution-focused brief therapy is key. The goal of SFBT is to find and implement a solution to the problem or problems as soon as possible to minimize time spent in therapy and, more importantly, time spent struggling or suffering.
SFBT is committed to finding realistic, workable solutions for clients as quickly as possible, and the efficacy of this treatment has influenced its spread around the world and use in multiple contexts. SFBT has been successfully applied in individual, couples, and family therapy. The problems it can address are wide-ranging, from the normal stressors of life to high-impact life events.
The solution-focused approach of SFBT is founded in de Shazer and Berg’s idea that the solutions to one’s problems are typically found in the “exceptions” to the problem, meaning the times when the problem is not actively affecting the individual. This approach is a logical one—to find a lasting solution to a problem, it is rational to look first at those times in which the problem lacks its usual potency.
For example, if a client is struggling with excruciating shyness, but typically has no trouble speaking to his or her coworkers, a solution-focused therapist would target the client’s interactions at work as an exception to the client’s usual shyness. Once the client and therapist have discovered an exception, they will work as a team to find out how the exception is different from the client’s usual experiences with the problem. The therapist will help the client formulate a solution based on what sets the exception scenario apart, and aid the client in setting goals and implementing the solution.
You may have noticed that this type of therapy relies heavily on the therapist and client working together. Indeed, SFBT works on the assumption that every individual has at least some level of motivation to address their problem or problems and to find solutions that improve their quality of life. This motivation on the part of the client is an essential piece of the model that drives SFBT.
While there is no formalized “A leads to B, which leads to C” sort of model for SFBT, there is a general model that acts as the foundation for this type of therapy. Solution-focused theorists and therapists believe that generally, people develop default problem patterns based on their experiences, as well as default solution patterns. These patterns dictate an individual’s usual way of experiencing a problem and his or her usual way of coping with problems.
The solution-focused model holds that focusing only on problems is not an effective way of solving them. Instead, SFBT targets clients’ default solution patterns, evaluates them for efficacy, and modifies or replaces them with problem-solving approaches that work.
In addition to this foundational belief, the SFBT model is based on the following assumptions: Change is constant and certain; Emphasis should be on what is changeable and possible; Clients must want to change; Clients are the experts in therapy and must develop their own goals; Clients already have the resources and strengths to solve their problems; Therapy is short-term; The focus must be on the future—a client’s history is not a key part of this type of therapy.
Based on these assumptions, the model instructs therapists to do the following in their sessions with clients: Ask questions rather than “selling” answers; Notice and reinforce evidence of the client’s positive qualities, strengths, resources, and general competence to solve their own problems; Work with what people can do rather than focusing on what they can’t do; Pinpoint the behaviors a client is already engaging in that are helpful and effective and find new ways to facilitate problem-solving through these behaviors; Focus on the details of the solution instead of the problem; Develop action plans that work for the client.
SFBT therapists aim to bring out the skills, strengths, and abilities that clients already possess rather than attempting to build new competencies from scratch. This assumption of a client’s competence is one of the reasons this therapy can be administered in a short timeframe—it is much quicker to harness the resources clients already have than to create and nurture new resources.
Beyond these basic activities, there are many techniques and exercises used in SFBT to promote problem-solving and enhance clients’ ability to work through their own problems. While some of these techniques are used specifically in SFBT, others have applicability to a wide range of therapies, or even to individuals working on solving their problems without the guidance of a therapist.
Working with a therapist is generally recommended when you are facing overwhelming or particularly difficult problems, but not all problems require a licensed professional to solve. For each technique listed below, it will be noted if it can be used as a standalone technique.
Asking good questions is vital in any form of therapy, but SFBT formalized this practice into a technique that specifies a certain set of questions intended to provoke thinking and discussion about goal-setting and problem-solving. One such question is the “coping question.” This question is intended to help clients recognize their own resiliency and identify some of the ways in which they already cope with their problems effectively.
There are many ways to phrase this sort of question, but generally, a coping question is worded something like, “How do you manage, in the face of such difficulty, to fulfill your daily obligations?” Another type of question common in SFBT is the “miracle question.” The miracle question encourages clients to imagine a future in which their problems are no longer affecting their lives. Imagining this desired future will help clients see a path forward, both allowing them to believe in the possibility of this future and helping them to identify concrete steps they can take to make it happen.
This question is generally asked in the following manner: “Imagine that a miracle has occurred. This problem you are struggling with is suddenly absent from your life. What does your life look like without this problem?” If the miracle question is unlikely to work, or if the client is having trouble imagining this miracle future, the SFBT therapist can use “best hopes” questions instead. The client’s answers to these questions will help establish what the client is hoping to achieve and help him or her set realistic and achievable goals.
The “best hopes” questions can include the following: What are your best hopes for today’s session? What needs to happen in this session to enable you to leave thinking it was worthwhile? How will you know things are “good enough” for our sessions to end? What needs to happen in these sessions so that your relatives/friends/coworkers can say, “I’m really glad you went to see [the therapist]”?
To identify the exceptions to the problems plaguing clients, therapists will ask “exception questions.” These are questions that ask about clients’ experiences both with and without their problems. This helps to distinguish between circumstances in which the problems are most active and the circumstances in which the problems either hold no power or have diminished power over clients’ moods or thoughts.
Exception questions can include: Tell me about the times when you felt the happiest; What was it about that day that made it a better day? Can you think of times when the problem was not present in your life?
Another question frequently used by SFBT practitioners is the “scaling question.” It asks clients to rate their experiences (such as how their problems are currently affecting them, how confident they are in their treatment, and how they think the treatment is progressing) on a scale from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). This helps the therapist to gauge progress and learn more about clients’ motivation and confidence in finding a solution.
For example, an SFBT therapist may ask, “On a scale from 0 to 10, how would you rate your progress in finding and implementing a solution to your problem?”
Solution-focused therapy puts problem-solving at the forefront of the conversation and can be particularly useful for clients who aren’t suffering from major mental health issues and need help solving a particular problem (or problems). Rather than spending years in therapy, SFBT allows such clients to find solutions and get results quickly.
中文翻译
什么是焦点解决疗法：3个核心技术
焦点解决疗法，也称为焦点解决短期治疗（SFBT），是一种更重视讨论解决方案而非问题的疗法。当然，你必须讨论问题才能找到解决方案，但除了理解问题是什么并决定如何解决之外，焦点解决疗法不会纠结于你正在经历的每一个问题细节。
焦点解决短期治疗不需要深入探讨你的童年以及过去如何影响现在。相反，它将你的治疗过程牢牢扎根于当下，同时致力于实现一个未来，在这个未来中，你当前的问题对你的生活影响较小。
这种以解决方案为中心的治疗形式起源于20世纪80年代的家庭治疗领域。创始人史蒂夫·德·沙泽尔和金·伯格注意到，大多数治疗时间都花在讨论症状、问题和困难上。德·沙泽尔和伯格看到了在新疗法中更快缓解负面症状的机会，这种疗法强调快速、具体的问题解决，而不是持续讨论问题本身。
焦点解决短期治疗中的“短期”一词是关键。SFBT的目标是尽快找到并实施问题或问题的解决方案，以尽量减少在治疗中花费的时间，更重要的是，减少在挣扎或痛苦中度过的时间。
SFBT致力于尽快为客户找到现实可行的解决方案，这种治疗的有效性影响了其在全球的传播和在多种情境中的应用。SFBT已成功应用于个人、夫妻和家庭治疗。它可以解决的问题范围广泛，从日常的生活压力到高影响的生活事件。
SFBT的焦点解决方法基于德·沙泽尔和伯格的观点，即问题的解决方案通常存在于问题的“例外”中，也就是问题没有积极影响个体的时刻。这种方法是一种逻辑方法——要找到问题的持久解决方案，首先关注问题缺乏其通常效力的那些时刻是合理的。
例如，如果一位客户正在与极度害羞作斗争，但通常与同事交谈没有问题，焦点解决治疗师会将客户在工作中的互动视为客户通常害羞的例外。一旦客户和治疗师发现了例外，他们将作为一个团队找出例外与客户通常的问题经历有何不同。治疗师将帮助客户根据例外情景的不同之处制定解决方案，并帮助客户设定目标和实施解决方案。
你可能已经注意到，这种类型的治疗在很大程度上依赖于治疗师和客户的合作。事实上，SFBT基于这样的假设：每个人都有至少一定程度的动机来解决他们的问题或问题，并找到提高生活质量的解决方案。客户的这种动机是驱动SFBT模型的重要组成部分。
虽然SFBT没有正式的“A导致B，B导致C”之类的模型，但有一个通用模型作为这种治疗的基础。焦点解决理论家和治疗师认为，一般来说，人们会根据他们的经验发展出默认的问题模式，以及默认的解决方案模式。这些模式决定了个体通常体验问题的方式以及他或她通常应对问题的方式。
焦点解决模型认为，只关注问题并不是解决问题的有效方法。相反，SFBT针对客户的默认解决方案模式，评估其有效性，并修改或替换为有效的解决问题方法。
除了这一基本信念外，SFBT模型基于以下假设：变化是持续且确定的；重点应放在可改变和可能的事情上；客户必须想要改变；客户是治疗中的专家，必须制定自己的目标；客户已经拥有解决问题的资源和优势；治疗是短期的；重点必须放在未来——客户的历史不是这种治疗的关键部分。
基于这些假设，该模型指导治疗师在与客户的会话中执行以下操作：提问而不是“推销”答案；注意并强化客户积极品质、优势、资源和解决自身问题的一般能力的证据；与人们能做的事情合作，而不是关注他们不能做的事情；确定客户已经参与的有帮助和有效的行为，并找到通过这些行为促进问题解决的新方法；关注解决方案的细节而不是问题；制定适合客户的行动计划。
SFBT治疗师旨在发掘客户已经拥有的技能、优势和能力，而不是试图从头开始建立新的能力。这种对客户能力的假设是这种治疗可以在短时间内进行的原因之一——利用客户已有的资源比创造和培养新资源要快得多。
除了这些基本活动外，SFBT还使用许多技术和练习来促进问题解决并增强客户处理自身问题的能力。虽然其中一些技术专门用于SFBT，但其他技术适用于广泛的其他疗法，甚至适用于在没有治疗师指导的情况下解决问题的个人。
当你面临压倒性或特别困难的问题时，通常建议与治疗师合作，但并非所有问题都需要有执照的专业人士来解决。对于下面列出的每种技术，将注明它是否可以作为独立技术使用。
在任何形式的治疗中，提出好问题都至关重要，但SFBT将这种做法形式化为一种技术，指定了一组旨在引发关于目标设定和问题解决的思考和讨论的问题。其中一个问题是“应对问题”。这个问题旨在帮助客户认识到自己的韧性，并确定他们已经有效应对问题的一些方式。
这种问题有很多表达方式，但通常，应对问题的措辞类似于：“面对这样的困难，你是如何履行日常义务的？”SFBT中常见的另一种问题是“奇迹问题”。奇迹问题鼓励客户想象一个未来，在这个未来中，问题不再影响他们的生活。想象这个期望的未来将帮助客户看到前进的道路，既让他们相信这种未来的可能性，又帮助他们确定可以采取的具体步骤来实现它。
这个问题通常以下列方式提出：“想象一下奇迹发生了。你正在挣扎的问题突然从你的生活中消失了。没有这个问题，你的生活会是什么样子？”如果奇迹问题不太可能奏效，或者客户难以想象这个奇迹般的未来，SFBT治疗师可以改用“最佳希望”问题。客户对这些问题的回答将有助于确定客户希望实现的目标，并帮助他或她设定现实且可实现的目标。
“最佳希望”问题可以包括以下内容：你对今天的会话有什么最佳希望？这次会话需要发生什么才能让你离开时觉得值得？你怎么知道事情“足够好”到我们的会话可以结束？这些会话需要发生什么，才能让你的亲戚/朋友/同事说：“我真的很高兴你去见了[治疗师]”？
为了识别困扰客户的问题的例外情况，治疗师会问“例外问题”。这些问题询问客户在有和没有问题时的经历。这有助于区分问题最活跃的情况和问题对客户情绪或思想没有影响或影响减弱的情况。
例外问题可以包括：告诉我你感到最快乐的时刻；那天是什么让它成为更好的一天？你能想到问题不在你生活中的时候吗？
SFBT从业者经常使用的另一个问题是“量表问题”。它要求客户在0（最低）到10（最高）的范围内对他们的经历（例如问题目前如何影响他们，他们对治疗的信心如何，以及他们认为治疗进展如何）进行评分。这有助于治疗师评估进展，并更多地了解客户在寻找解决方案方面的动机和信心。
例如，SFBT治疗师可能会问：“在0到10的范围内，你会如何评价你在寻找和实施问题解决方案方面的进展？”
焦点解决疗法将问题解决置于对话的前沿，对于没有遭受严重心理健康问题并需要帮助解决特定问题（或问题）的客户尤其有用。与其花费数年时间进行治疗，SFBT允许这些客户快速找到解决方案并获得结果。
文章概要
本文介绍了焦点解决短期治疗（SFBT）的基本概念、核心原则和关键技术。SFBT是一种强调解决方案而非问题的心理治疗方法，起源于20世纪80年代的家庭治疗领域。其核心思想是关注问题的“例外”时刻，即问题不活跃的时候，并以此为基础构建解决方案。文章详细阐述了SFBT的模型假设，包括变化是持续的、客户是自身问题的专家、客户已拥有解决问题的资源和优势等。关键技术包括奇迹问题、应对问题、例外问题、量表问题和最佳希望问题等，这些技术旨在帮助客户设定目标、识别优势并制定行动计划。SFBT适用于个人、夫妻和家庭治疗，尤其适合解决日常压力和生活事件，但不推荐用于严重精神健康障碍。文章还讨论了SFBT与积极心理学的联系，两者都强调个体的积极面和内在能力。总体而言，SFBT是一种短期、目标导向的治疗方法，旨在快速帮助客户找到可行的解决方案。
高德明老师的评价
1. 用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：
焦点解决疗法就像是一个超级英雄工具箱，它不花时间一直问“为什么会有问题”，而是直接问“我们怎么解决问题”。比如，如果你和好朋友吵架了，它不会一直问你们为什么吵架，而是会问：“你们不吵架的时候是怎么一起玩的？”然后找出那些好玩的时刻，让你们更多那样做。治疗师会用一些有趣的问题，比如“如果明天一觉醒来，问题魔法般地消失了，你的生活会是什么样子？”帮助你想象美好的未来，然后一起找出实现它的方法。这种方法相信你已经很厉害了，只是需要一点帮助来发现自己的超能力！
2. 焦点解决心理学理论评价：
焦点解决短期治疗展现了心理学领域中一种极具前瞻性和赋能性的理论视角。它巧妙地将治疗焦点从问题病理学转向解决方案建构学，这种范式转移体现了对人类内在资源的深刻信任。理论框架中的“例外寻找”机制，本质上是一种资源导向的认知重构，它帮助个体从问题叙事中解放出来，进入可能性叙事。SFBT对“短暂性”和“变化恒定”的假设，与积极心理学中的成长型思维高度契合，共同构建了一个动态、发展的心理健康观。这种理论不仅尊重个体的主体性，更通过结构化的问题技术（如奇迹问题、量表问题），将抽象的希望转化为具体的行动蓝图，实现了理论与实践的完美衔接。
3. 在实践上可以应用的领域和可以解决人们的十个问题：
焦点解决疗法在多个实践领域展现出广阔的应用前景，特别是在关系咨询中，它能够帮助人们探索目标并构建更健康的互动模式。可以解决的具体问题包括：
（1）夫妻沟通障碍：通过奇迹问题帮助伴侣共同描绘理想的沟通场景。
（2）亲子关系紧张：利用例外问题发现家庭中和谐相处的时刻并加以强化。
（3）职场人际关系冲突：运用量表问题评估关系改善进度并设定小步骤目标。
（4）朋友间的误解：通过应对问题识别双方已有的解决冲突的能力。
（5）恋爱中的不安全感：使用最佳希望问题明确双方对关系的期待。
（6）家庭责任分配不均：借助例外寻找技术发现公平分工的成功案例。
（7）社交焦虑：通过奇迹问题想象在社交场合中自信表现的样子。
（8）团队合作困难：运用量表问题跟踪团队协作的改善程度。
（9）跨代沟通隔阂：利用例外问题挖掘不同世代间理解彼此的瞬间。
（10）社区邻里矛盾：通过最佳希望问题引导各方聚焦共同期望的社区氛围。
这些应用都体现了SFBT的核心优势：快速聚焦解决方案、充分利用现有资源、以及共同构建积极未来。