Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a form of therapy
that is explicitly based upon a social constructionist philosophy,
and has a number of attributes that make it attractive
for use with people with learning disabilities. These include
focusing on skills rather than deficits, producing a unique
intervention for each client based upon their particular skills
and needs, and providing the client with ‘expert status’ (and
hence a sense of self-efficacy) within the therapeutic
relationship.
Within professions employing psychotherapy in the UK,
SFBT continues to grow in popularity as a model for
intervention [O’Connell (1998) and George et al. (1999)
provide comprehensive introductory readers on SFBT].
Whilst there have been few well-controlled efficacy studies
conducted to date, the research that has been published
provides preliminary support for SFBT being an effective tool
in helping people with psychological problems [Gingerich &
Eisengart (2000) and MacDonald (2003) provide reviews].
Despite being a popular model of psychotherapy with an
underpinning philosophy that may be particularly helpful
to people with learning disabilities, there has been very little
published writing on the use of SFBT in learning disability
services. A literature search reveals a total of two articles on
the subject. Rhodes (2000) writes a brief account of the use of
SFBT with residential staff supporting adults with learning
disabilities and challenging behaviour. Stoddart et al. (2001)
discuss their adaptation of SFBT techniques for direct use