how long is brief?

The official name, for what many refer to as Solution Focused Therapy, is Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).  But what in the world does the term "brief" mean?  Does it mean that Solution Focused therapists only strive to offer "quick fixes?"  Does it mean that the number of visits is automatically limited?  Does it mean that clients can't come back if they feel there is still work to be done?  The answer to all of these questions is, "No!"

Some forms of therapy are indeed "long term" because they focus on one problem after another and strive to dig deeper and deeper into the root cause of each concern.   These approaches may in fact, at times, be helpful, but in some cases it is difficult to tell when one actually has resolved the issue which brought them to therapy in the first place.  Somehow one problem tends to reveal another problem and the course of therapy tends to go on and on.

Brief, in Solution Focused Brief Therapy, really doesn't describe a period of time; rather it refers to a perspective.  Brief means "not one session more than is clinically necessary."  In SFBT the goal is not to chase "therapeutic rabbits;" rather the goal is to help the client make satisfactory progress towards their desired outcome.  In SFBT we focus, not so much on the problem, but rather on getting a clear picture of the client's "preferred future."  Sometimes this journey is completed in just a few sessions.  Sometimes the course of therapy stretches out over the course of weeks or months.  But for each client the focus is on helping them achieve the "best hopes" they had in mind when they sat down with the therapist for the very first time.  Compared to other forms of therapy, SFBT is often brief; because in SFBT we listen to the client, determine a destination and begin the therapeutic journey with a specific end in mind.