Solution Focused Therapy Summary

The article “The Implementation of Solution-Focused Therapy to Increase Foster Care Placement Stability” was written in 2010 by Jeffrey J. Koob and Susan M. Love. Entering the foster care system and being placed in a new environment can be challenging transition for both children and adolescents. As a result, “one to two-thirds will have disruptions in their placements” with most being adolescents (Koob and Love, 2010, p.1346). In order to reduce the number of disruptions, Koob and Love focused on promoting stability for adolescents in foster care through the use of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Rather than using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the article proposed that through the use of short term treatment with SFBT adolescents

will have a greater chance at placement stability.
The article presented similar viewpoints of literature about children and adolescents having difficulty connecting to their new families. Koob and Love (2010) stated that foster care children over the age of 11 tend to have the most difficulty establishing bonds with their foster care family. Based on my experience working in the foster care, I agree with this statement. Adolescents placed in foster care do tend to be more resistant to adapting to their new placement which then increases placement disruptions. Koob and Love (2010) also point out that with these disruptions there is an increased chance for group care which then denies them the opportunity to have positive connections and a normal family life. It is expected through the use of SFBT disruptions in placement will be reduced so that those in foster care can maintain that connection.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy
Solution Focused Brief Therapy was created co-created by Inoso Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer and it focuses on working with the client in order to develop solutions (Koob & Love, 2010). Each session is approached as if it is the first and last session (Koob & Love, 2010). SFBT is based on the following main principles: the client is the expert, problem and solution are not connected, and the main focus is on the client’s strengths (Koob & Love, 2010). With this the focus is taken away from the whole problem and focuses solely on supporting the client and identifying ways to build upon their strength’s. Koob and Love (2010) express that it is easier for clients to build upon their own strengths and repeat successful behaviors rather than utilizing techniques that have worked for others. Some of the techniques utilized during SFBT are asking coping, scaling, and miracle questions (Koob & Love, 2010). In addition, the clinician can assist the client with reframing their perspective from negative to positive as well as compliment the client on their strengths (Koob & Love, 2010). By utilizing these techniques, the client is able to provide their perspectives about the situation and is involved in coming up with goals to improve their situation. According to Koob & Love (2010) several studies have proven SFBT to be an effective intervention that has been utilized with a range of populations such as substance abuse users, students, the elderly, married couples, parenting groups, as well as individual and family counseling. Results of the studies revealed that SFBT showed positive changes such as decreases in behavior, improved quality and effectiveness of treatment as well as staff morale (Koob & Love, 2010).
Pertinent Research Findings
Koob and Love (2010) hypothesized that “adolescent foster children who receive family therapy using SFBT will experience greater placement stability than when they received individual therapy using CBT” (p.1348). The study was conducted in a residential treatment facility with 31 adolescents (18 Caucasians and 13 African Americans) with ages ranging from 12-17 (Koob & Love, 2010). In addition, all participants had a history of multiple disruptions in placement resulting from behavior and emotional disorders (Koob & Love, 2010). However, the number of disrupted placements prior to SFBT were not documented within the study (Koob & Love, 2010). The participants were compromised of 14 females and 17 males who had CBT one year prior and were ineligible to age out of the system (Koob & Love, 2010).
Prior to the implementation of SFBT, the residential center utilized CBT and treatment did not involve the participant’s family members or foster family in the treatment process (Koob & Love, 2010). The staff at the center were displeased with results of CBT; therefore one of the co-creators of SFBT trained the staff at the residential facility for one week and returned throughout the year to reinforce the training (Koob & Love, 2010).
During the implementation of SFBT, the basic principles and techniques were utilized. The article provided an Appendix showing examples of each. Scaling questions were utilized with those dealing with depression or anxiety for example “on a scale of 1-10, rate your success” (Koob & Love, 2010). Miracle questions were utilized with those who lacked goals or positive vision for their future and asked questions such as “If the problem had never existed, what would be different?” (Koob & Love, 2010). In addition, coping questions were utilized with environmental problems for example “given all of these challenging issues how do you cope?” (Koob & Love, 2010). Furthermore, when clients complained about interactions with others relationship questions would be asked such as “What would your best friend say?” (Koob and Love, 2010). The direction of the SFBT was solution and future focused and it included applications of placement stability, positive mental health as well as family cohesion (Koob & Love, 2010).
All information collected during the study was kept until the year following the SFBT (Koob & Love, 2010).

Participants were followed for one year to determine if they endured or failed their foster care placements (Koob & Love, 2010). According to Koob & Love (2010), when participants were placed into foster home they either were stable to remain in the home or they returned back to the residential facility as a result of a failed placement. The length of stay within the residential center ranged from two to six weeks and were then placed into another foster home (Koob & Love, 2010). However, if the placement was unsuccessful again the adolescent would return back to the center (Koob & Love, 2010). This was a continuous cycle and each participant never returned to the same home (Koob & Love,

2010).
Results of this study was gained through a dependent sample t-test which was administered to compare the mean number of placements for one year prior to the SFBT and the one year following the implementation of the treatment (Koob & Love, 2010). According to Koob and Love (2010), results of the study were statistically substantial and the implementation of SFBT deceased disruptions. Overall, the study “indicated that SFBT promotes foster care placement stability with adolescents (Koob & Love, 2010, p.1348).
Usefulness of Solution Focused Brief Therapy
The article provided several different limitations about their study.

I agree with some of the limitations of the study such as their small number of participants, ethnic representation and use of one location. Due to this, the results of the study was not generalizable to other populations. In addition, the length of time that the study was conducted was also relatively short. Some children are typically in foster care for more than a year therefore, providing a longer time period to see results could indicate if there were changes in placement after the one year time period. This indicates a limitation to using SFBT because it may be too brief and not provide enough time for the client to identify ways to improve their situation. Furthermore, the article did not directly indicate how SFBT proved to be effective. According to Koob and Love (2010), “it could have been the change of focus from individual to family that lead to increased placement stability, rather than from cognitive behavioral to solution focused” (p.1349). Therefore, I agree with Koob and Love’s statement that “there is no evidence that the treatment had a direct effect” (2010, p.1349). Furthermore, although SFBT has been utilized with other client populations, I do believe that it would be difficult to utilize this intervention with those who have severe mental health issues because they may be unable to identify attainable goals and effective ways improve their areas of need. Furthermore, the therapist

may be limited in sharing their expertise and advice with the client(s) because SFBT focuses solely on the client’s perspective.
Although, SFBT has shown to have some limitations, there are a number of things that proves this intervention to be useful. As mentioned, based on the literature about other studies, SFBT has shown to be a useful intervention for a variety of client populations. I believe that SFBT can be an effective intervention to utilize within the clinical profession because it focuses on building upon client’s strengths and allows them to provide their perspective on how they can improve their situation. I believe it is important to meet the client where they are at and work towards identifying what works best for them. It can be influential to see how just small changes can really impact one’s life. Using this intervention can be a great way to assist clients with identifying their skills and help them to clarify their goals. This would be an effective tool to assist the client with thinking about what helped them to get through things in past. SFBT is vital because it focuses on personal strengths rather than their failures at that moment in time. The techniques such as the scaling and coping questions can help to determine the client’s progress which also assists the clinician with determining what is needed to achieve further progress. Based on my experience working in Foster care, I know that the transition can be an extremely problematic time for both children and adolescents as well as the biological and foster families. I believe that utilizing this intervention would be a good way to build rapport and supportive relationships not only with the therapist, but also with others in their placements. Often time’s children and adolescents just want attention or their opinions to be heard; therefore this would help with getting their perspective about their situation and how they can proactively work towards making the situation better in smaller steps. Furthermore, I believe that SFBT can also be applied with families. It can be used to get the family members to collaborate together as well as identify similar goals. The family members can identify what has worked for them in the past and try to reinforce those skills in new situations. Although there were some limitations about the study I believe that the Koob &b Love encompassed what they set out to study and gained the results that they hypothesized. Overall, I believe that SFBT is an effective technique that can be used to assist clients in short time frame. Throughout the course of internship and clinical practice I plan to practice utilizing this intervention with future clients.