Interventions in SFBT are constructed by utilizing strategies
that have worked for the client in the past. I therefore
asked Dave to try to apply the successful techniques he had
described in difficult situations over the next few weeks in
order to see if they helped him control his behaviour. We
also agreed that his support worker would discuss the
techniques and how he had successfully used them with
him when they met between therapy sessions, as an aid to
Dave’s memory, and to help motivate him to re-use the
strategies that proved effective for him.
At our third meeting Dave reported that he had not been
involved in any aggressive incidents in the previous
2 months. He had decided to talk to a number of friends
and associates as well as staff at the clubs he attended about
what he had found worked and what didn’t. He told us
about incidents when he had been sorely provoked, how he
had dealt with this, and how others had noticed and even
congratulated him on his control (providing social reinforcement
for his new behaviour). During the session he
was able to provide further examples of things he had done
differently in the trigger situations that seemed to have
helped him control his behaviour. Therapeutic intervention
consisted of highlighting the successes, helping Dave clarify
what had worked, encouraging him to do more of it in the
future, and marking his progress on the scales.
Dave was seen on a total of five occasions over the course
of 11 months, for between 60 and 90 min on each occasion.