This exploratory paper aimed to she

This exploratory paper aimed to shed light on the experience of first
session solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) for families who have a
child with intellectual disabilities (ID). The therapist interviewed the
participants, all mothers, two weeks after their initial session. The Helpful
Aspects of Therapy Questionnaire (Llewelyn, 1988) was used with
structured recall (Elliot and Shapiro, 1988), a procedure in which
participants listen to excerpts from their therapeutic sessions identified
by them as helpful or unhelpful. Interview transcripts were analysed by
the therapist using interpretive phenomenological analysis (Smith, 2003).
Three superordinate themes emerged from the interviews: (1) SFBT
brought to mind the idea of ‘making the best of it’. (2) Examination of
wishful thinking. (3) Therapeutic relationship. In addition, self-efficacy
recurred as a sub-theme throughout. The ‘miracle question’ was perceived
as irrelevant by the mothers and was the most frequently cited
unhelpful event. It also seemed to be associated with shifts in wishful
thinking. These mothers’ experiences suggest that SFBT is a useful
structure for first sessions particularly as it seems to build a useful
therapeutic relationship, highlights self-efficacy and may encourage helpful
coping styles.