Identifying the goal which is appropriate and achievable;
2. Identifying exceptions to the usual pattern of problems;
3. Measuring the student's progress towards achieving the goal; and,
4. Providing useful and positive feedback.
Finally, SFBT can be used either as a "stand-alone" counseling approach or in tandem with other techniques. For example, Linton (2005) emphasizes that SFBT ". . . can operate as a stand alone approach or in conjunction with traditional models of treatment. Solution-focused mental health counselors do not view SFBT and traditional models of treatment as incompatible. Collaborating with clients to create counseling goals, be they directed towards abstinence, self-help group attendance, changes in thinking errors, or some other goal of the client's choosing, selves to enhance motivation to change" (p. 298). Likewise, Jones and Charlton also note that, "Brief therapy has some features in common with cognitive therapy techniques such as problem-solving skills training. Future developments in this area may see combinations of such therapeutic inputs" (p. 74).
One of the fundamental limitations of SFBT, though, is a paucity of timely and relevant studies concerning its efficacy in school counseling settings. According to Lewis and Osborn (2004), at the time of writing, two studies reporting favorable outcomes (e.g., length of treatment, and achievement and maintenance of client goals) of SFBT have frequently been cited in the SFBT literature; however, these two studies were based on methodology described by these authors as "poorly developed," and remain unpublished. As a result, assertions concerning the utility and efficacy of SFBT remain strictly theoretical and have not been subjected to rigorous empirical analysis (Lewis & Osborn, p. 38).
Reflection including Accommodations, Interventions and/or Referrals
The accommodations that result from the application of the SFBT counseling method can range from relatively simple changes in students' lives or they may be much more complicated (Sexton et al., 2003). By focusing on what works ("and doing more of it"), though, the SFBT approach appears to hold some special significance for counselors who may otherwise be at a loss to formulate effective counseling techniques for students who are experiencing comparable types of problems in their lives. Although every individual is unique, of course, many adolescents tend to encounter many of the same challenges during this turbulent period in their lives that are amenable to the SFBT step-by-step approach.
Notwithstanding the "brief" aspects inherent in the SFBT approach, the sooner such troubled youngsters are able to complete an SFBT intervention, the more likely the accommodations that will be required to effect meaningful change will remain simple rather than complicated. There are also...
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