SFBT (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) is a psychotherapeutic approach that focuses on constructing solutions rather than analyzing problems. The central idea: the solution does not have to be connected to the problem — but it is always connected to the client's desired future.
Steve de Shazer (1940–2005) and Insoo Kim Berg (1934–2007) created SFBT in the early 1980s at the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee, USA.
The approach was born from practical observation. The BFTC team watched sessions through a one-way mirror and noticed: when the conversation shifts from the problem to the solution, clients improve faster. This observational methodology became the foundation of the approach.
Influences and predecessors:
BFTC closed in 2007 after the deaths of both founders. By then SFBT had already become one of the most widely used psychotherapeutic approaches in the world, giving rise to many schools and adaptations.
Key figures of the next generations:
1. If it isn't broken, don't fix it 2. If something works, do more of it 3. If something doesn't work, do something different 4. Small steps can lead to large changes 5. The solution does not have to be connected to the problem 6. The language of the solution ≠ the language of the problem 7. No problem is constant — there are always exceptions 8. The future is constructed in dialogue
These principles were drawn from thousands of hours of session observation, not from theory.
"Suppose that tonight, while you were asleep, a miracle happened — and the problem that brought you here was solved. But you don't know about it because you were asleep. What will be the first thing you notice in the morning?"
The Miracle Question is not a fantasy and not a visualization. It is a tool for constructing a detailed description of the desired future through concrete, observable signs.
"From 0 to 10, where 10 is your life after the miracle and 0 is the worst moment. where are you now?" Then: "Why not lower?" (a focus on resources) and "What will be at +1?" (a small step).
The scale is a universal tool for assessing progress, motivation, confidence, hope.
Moments when the problem is less noticeable or absent. Looking for exceptions is a way to discover solutions that already work: "When is the problem less noticeable? What were you doing differently?"
| Type | Description | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor | Sees no problem, came along "for company" | Compliments, support, no tasks |
| Complainant | Sees the problem, but in others | Observation tasks |
| Customer | Sees the problem and is ready to act | Behavioral tasks |
The type of relationship is not a label for the person but a description of the present moment. It can change during a session.
For clients in a hard state (scale 0–1), when the Miracle Question is not appropriate: "How do you manage to cope?", "How do you keep getting up in the morning?" The focus is on resilience, not on the solution.
A typical structure of the first session: a short description of the problem → the Miracle Question → detailing the desired future → scale → exceptions → feedback (a break, compliments, a task).
Follow-up sessions begin with "What is better?" — the focus is on progress, not on problems.
SFBT is included in the registries of evidence-based practices of (USA) and NICE (UK) for several indications. The most convincing data are for depression, behavioral problems in children and adolescents, and family conflicts.
"The language of constructing the solution is different from the language of describing the problem." — Steve de Shazer
The classical Milwaukee structure changed over time: the 1986 plan was formal (7 steps with the team behind the mirror), the 2006 plan was more flexible. Below — modern practice based on Milwaukee.
Two routes, one logic. First session: problem-free talk → pre-session change → Miracle Question → scaling → closing. Following sessions: "what is better?" → amplification → scaling → closing.
PROBLEM-FREE TALK
A few minutes of talk, free from the problem. Getting acquainted, contact, the setting.
This is not assessment and not history-taking. It is a signal: it is safe here, we begin as equals.
PRE-SESSION CHANGE
This question sets the tone: changes are already happening, we notice them and amplify them.
✅ If the client answers "nothing" — do not push. Move on to the description of the problem.
✅ If the client names changes — amplify: "How did you manage that? What else has changed?"
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
Let the client tell their story. Do not dive deep into history — it is enough to understand what is bothering them. The aim is to move on to the solution.
A bridge from the problem to the solution. After this — the Miracle Question.
THE CLASSICAL FORMULATION (DE SHAZER)
Speak slowly. Take pauses. Let the client step into the picture. This is not a quick question — it is an invitation into another reality.
HOW TO DEVELOP THE ANSWER
✅ Ask "What else?" many times. The aim is a detailed, vivid picture of the next day in concrete, observable details.
⚠️ Do not stop at abstractions. "I will feel better" → "How will you notice that you feel better? What will you be doing?"
IF THE CLIENT FINDS IT HARD TO IMAGINE A MIRACLE
The word "miracle" does not fit some clients. That is fine. The point is a detailed description of the future without the problem, not a particular word.
© Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg — BFTC, Milwaukee
THE MAIN QUESTION
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS
This is the key question! The answer reveals the resources and what is already working.
The scale translates abstract experience into specifics. De Shazer called this a move from "analog" to "digital" language — and back.
✅ Do not chase a high number. The focus is on what is already there and what will be at +1.
⚠️ Do not ask "Why not higher?" — that is a focus on deficit. Ask "Why not lower?" — a focus on resource.
BEFORE CLOSING
MODERN PRACTICE
Modern SFBT practice closes the session gently — without a formal break or a list of tasks. The focus: what the client themselves considers useful.
Classical: the therapist took a break (a consultation with the team behind the one-way mirror), then returned with compliments and a task. Today most practitioners work without a team and without a formal break.
IF YOU WANT TO SUGGEST AN EXPERIMENT
This is not a "task" — it is an invitation to observe. The client is free to take it up or not.
Classical: de Shazer gave concrete tasks — observe, predict, do more of what works, do something different. In modern practice, tasks have given way to gentle suggestions.
A follow-up session begins not with "How are you?" but with a focus on changes.
THE MAIN QUESTION
✅ Accept everything — even small things. "Got up 5 minutes earlier" — great. Develop.
⚠️ Do not ask "How are you?" — that is an invitation to describe the problem. Ask "What is better?" — that is an invitation to describe the solution.
These are coping questions. Even when "nothing is better" — the client was doing something to hold on. Find it.
1. Listen — do not interrupt, acknowledge 2. Ask a coping question: "How do you manage to cope?" 3. Amplify: "What else helps?" — 3–5 times 4. Return to the future: "Given all this — what do you hope for?"
STRATEGIC QUESTIONS
When the client has named an improvement — amplify:
✅ "What else has gotten better?" — ask 5–7 times. Build the full list.
LINK TO THE MIRACLE
Tie the improvements to the picture of the future from the first session. This strengthens the sense of movement.
✅ Every +1 is a reason to amplify: "How did you do it? What were you doing? What does this say about you?"
Holding the level is also an achievement. Do not devalue it.
The focus is not on the drop but on the resources of holding and the micro-step up.
WHEN DOES THERAPY END?
When the client feels they can cope without the meetings. The therapist does not decide for the client.
In SFBT a typical course is 3–8 sessions (often 4–6). Do not drag it out if the client is ready.
A question that sets the tone for the whole therapy: the client realizes that change does not start in the office — it has already happened or is happening. The work is built on this foundation.
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de Shazer, Berg (BFTC, Milwaukee)
The central tool of SFBT. The client describes the desired future in detailed, concrete, observable, behavioral terms. Not an abstract goal ("I want to be happy"), but a vivid picture of the next day ("I will wake up, make coffee, talk to my daughter about her day.").
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de Shazer (1984), the central tool of BFTC
A translation of abstract states into concrete numbers (0–10). It creates a "therapeutic tension" — a visible difference between "now" and "the desired". It allows even micro-movement to be measured (from 4 to 4.5 — that is a victory).
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de Shazer, Berg, a classical tool of BFTC
Exceptions are real moments when the problem does not arise or shows up less strongly. This is not a dream, but a fact. The client already knows how to live without the problem or with it in its minimal form. The task: notice it and repeat.
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de Shazer (early SFBT, 1980s), the main technique within "if something works, do more of it"
Instead of looking for a solution we acknowledge the reality of the pain and ask: how do you keep going at all? This shows the resources and competencies of the client even in the bleakest situation. Often used at the lower end of the scale (0–3).
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de Shazer, later developed in BRIEF (Ratner, George, Iveson) and the Bruges Model
A question that shifts attention from the client's own perception to the perception of another person. "How do you see yourself now?" turns into "And how does your wife see this?" This widens the perspective and often opens new possibilities.
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de Shazer, developed in family therapy work
In classical Milwaukee SFBT, compliments are not flattery but recognition of the client's concrete resources, actions, and competencies. They close the session and consolidate the awareness: "You are already using these strengths — keep going".
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de Shazer, Berg (classical Milwaukee SFBT)
The client predicts whether tomorrow will be a "good day" or not. In the evening, they check. Often the prediction and reality do not match — and that opens new possibilities.
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de Shazer, a classical observation task
de Shazer and Berg classified clients not by diagnosis but by the type of relationship between the client and the therapist. These are not labels but a description of what is happening at the present moment. The type can change even within a single session. Three types: Visitor — no complaint, no choice in coming; Complainer — there is a complaint, but no readiness to act; Customer — there is a complaint plus readiness to act.
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de Shazer, Berg (early SFBT, 1980s)
EARS is a structured approach to interviewing developed at BRIEF (Ratner, George, Iveson) for the most effective gathering of information and amplification of positive aspects. Four steps: E — Elicit, A — Amplify, R — Reinforce, S — Start Over (with a different perspective).
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BRIEF (Ratner, George, Iveson)
"Keys" — universal questions that work on almost any problem. They do not solve anything, they open doors.
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BRIEF, Diamond Model
BRIEF shifted the opening of the session from "What brought you?" (the problem) to "What are your best hopes?" (the solution). This is an even more direct path to the desired future. The difference from the Miracle Question: more direct, less fantastical, more practical.
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BRIEF (Ratner, George, Iveson, late 1980s); Elliott Connie
The client constructs the question about the desired future themselves. The therapist does not ask the question but creates the condition for the client to come up with it on their own. An alternative to the Miracle Question in the CoLeC approach (Panayotov).
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CoLeC (Plamen Panayotov, Bulgaria)
A technique that shows the client that their state, feelings, and behavior are a normal reaction to the situation. This is not a defect of personality but a natural human response. Often it is literally one sentence, but it can free the client from shame.
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de Shazer (an idealistic view of the client as a normal person in an abnormal situation)
Classical reframing is a change of meaning without a change of facts. "Your husband forgets your birthday" can be redefined as "Your husband stresses and forgets details when he is under pressure". A different meaning → a different path of action.
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de Shazer (the key idea: "the nature of the problem does not determine the nature of the solution"), developed in NLP
The simplest and most powerful question in SFBT. One word opens up a new layer of information. Often used 5–7 times in a row, and never to be rushed.
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de Shazer, a universal SFBT instrument
Not a huge life change, but one small detail. It can be anything — the time of a walk, the order of a conversation, the channel of communication. The point is to break the pattern.
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de Shazer (briefly, the SFBT idea of small steps)
A visual technique that helps a child and a family talk about themselves through the metaphor of houses: "The house I live in", "The house of my dreams", "The house of my worries". Not a verbal conversation but a creative process — the child can draw and speak at the same time, which reveals the inner world beyond pat answers.
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Sheratan, the development of SFBT for children
The "black box" is unknown content that looks like magic but is real. When the client does not know the logic but sees the result, you can ask: "How do you do this without knowing how?" Used when the client cannot explain why something worked, but the result is there.
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A development of SFBT, practical observation
SFBT looks for solutions instead of analyzing problems.
By noticing exceptions and resources, you build the preferred future.
Record an exception → what helped → one step toward the goal.