Summary

Building on a strengths perspective and using a time-limited approach, solution-focused brief therapy is a treatment model in social work practice that holds a person accountable for solutions rather than responsible for problems. Solution-focused brief therapy deliberately utilizes the language and symbols of “solution and strengths” in treatment and postulates that positive and long-lasting change can occur in a relatively brief period of time by focusing on the solution-building process instead of focusing on problems. Based on the perspective that clients are the experts on their own reality, solution-focused therapists use a collaborative process to co-construct meaning and work toward the client’s preferred future. This practice model has been successfully applied to a wide range of social work practice areas and diverse cultural contexts around the world and offers an approach consistent with social work values, cultural humility, and strengths- and empowerment-based practice.