Foundations and Applications of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a short-term goal-focused evidence-based therapeutic approach, which incorporates positive psychology principles and practices, and which helps clients change by constructing solutions rather than focusing on problems. In the most basic sense, SFBT is a hope friendly, positive emotion eliciting, future-oriented vehicle for formulating, motivating, achieving, and sustaining desired behavioural change.
As the name suggests, SFBT is future-focused, goal-directed, and focuses on solutions, rather than on the problems that brought clients to seek therapy.
SFBT is an evidenced-based psychotherapy approach. There have been close to 150 randomized clinical control studies and eight meta-analyses with different control populations in different clinical settings in multiple countries, almost all showing positive benefits of SFBT. Positive outcomes are evident for child, adolescent, and adult populations presenting with problems such as depression, stress, anxiety, behavioural problems, parenting, and psychosocial and interpersonal problems (Kim et al, 2010; 2019).
Solution-Focused practitioners develop solutions by first generating a detailed description of how the client’s life will be different when the problem is gone or their situation improved to a degree satisfactory to the client. Therapist and client then carefully search through the client’s life experience and behavioural repertoire to discover the necessary resources needed to co-construct a practical and sustainable solution that the client can readily implement.
Typically this process involves identifying and exploring previous “exceptions,” e.g. times when the client has successfully coped with or addressed previous difficulties and challenges. In an inherently respectful and practical interview process, SF therapists and their clients consistently collaborate in identifying goals reflective of clients’ best hopes and developing satisfying solutions.
SFBT has not only become one of the leading schools of brief therapy, it has become a major influence in such diverse fields as business, social policy, education, and criminal justice services, child welfare, domestic violence offenders treatment. Described as a practical, goal-driven model, a hallmark of SFBT is its emphasis on clear, concise, realistic goal negotiations.
This workshop will focus on:
- Key Concepts and Tools
- Goal development questions
- Pre-Session Change Question
- Looking for previous solutions
- Looking for exceptions
- Present and future-focused questions vs. past-oriented focus
- Validating client’s efforts and achievements
- Inviting the clients to do more of what is working
- Miracle Question and Scaling Questions
- Coping Questions
- Practical applications of SFBT
Learning Objectives:
a). Describe the brief history of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).
b). Name at least two factors that influenced the pioneers of SFBT.
c). State the difference between problem solving and solution building.
d). Define a client in SFBT.
e). Name the eight principles of SFBT.
f). Identify at least two interventions and questions in SFBT.
g). Describe the three-part SFBT skeleton.
h). Identify which interventions and questions fit in the three parts of the skeleton.
i). Learn and practice the nuances of language needed to effectively use SFBT.
j). Explain how to apply SFBT with specific populations and modalities, such as families, marital, adolescents and group therapy.
k). Describe SFBT and Trauma informed care (SF-TIC).
l). Name and describe “The trifecta.”
Target Audience:
Professional counsellors, professional social workers, professional school counsellors, licensed marriage and family therapists, psychologists, professional case managers and medical staff.
CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Pay once for lifetime access.
Course Duration: 5 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Lifetime Access: Your access to the course does not expire, so you can revisit key concepts anytime you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
Rural and underserved communities struggling with limited access to quality behavioral health care - and clinicians working in isolation without adequate supervision or training - can need more than standard therapy approaches to create meaningful change. Jodi Ann Geis-Crowder has dedicated 27 years of her career to ensuring vulnerable populations receive innovative, culturally meaningful mental health services while mentoring the next generation of practitioners to work effectively in challenging settings.
As a Wyoming native and dual-licensed professional counselor in both Wyoming and Colorado, Geis-Crowder brings deep understanding of rural behavioral health challenges combined with innovative solutions that bridge traditional therapy with community resources. Her pioneering work developing animal-assisted therapy programs at Centennial Mental Health Center in Colorado and therapeutic horticulture programs at Peak Wellness Center in Wyoming demonstrates her commitment to culturally responsive, nature-based interventions that resonate with rural populations.
Geis-Crowder's expertise spans Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), clinical supervision, ethics, telehealth service delivery, trauma-informed care, substance use disorders, Polyvagal Theory, and the human-animal bond. Her approach recognises that effective rural mental health care must integrate community strengths, natural resources, and innovative service delivery models to overcome geographic and cultural barriers. She specialises in training clinicians to work effectively with limited resources, providing ethical supervision via telehealth, and developing programs that leverage the healing power of animals and nature.
What sets her training apart is authentic rural wisdom combined with innovative program development. Geis-Crowder doesn't just teach from textbooks - she shows practitioners how to create effective treatment programs in resource-limited settings while maintaining ethical standards. Her passion for mentoring reflects her understanding that sustainable rural mental health depends on developing local expertise and maintaining professional support networks across vast geographic areas.
For your practice, expect to gain specific SFBT techniques for resource-limited settings, tools for providing ethical telehealth supervision, and frameworks for developing innovative therapy programs using community resources. Her approach particularly benefits rural practitioners, clinical supervisors, or clinicians interested in animal-assisted or nature-based interventions.
Quick Win: Geis-Crowder's "solution-focused scaling" technique helps clients in crisis identify their existing strengths and coping resources - which can create hope and momentum for change even in the most challenging rural circumstances where traditional resources may be unavailable.
Qualifications
- MS, Counselor Education with emphasis in Leadership, University of Wyoming, 1994–1997
- Bachelor's Degree, Diversified Major in Psychology, Economics, Anthropology and Political Science, University of Wyoming, 1992–1994
- Associate of Science, Education, Northwest College, Wyoming
- Licensed Professional Counselor (Colorado and Wyoming)
- Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) through Center for Credentialing and Education
- SFBT Certified
- Professional Coach, Co-Creative Leadership: Human Capital Coach Training Alliance
Leadership & Training
- Clinical Supervisor & Professional Trainer, Volunteers of America Northern Rockies, current
- Owner & Operator, JGC Enterprises, LLC (webinars, professional training, consultation, coaching, speaking), current
- Professional Speaker & Trainer
Professional Experience
- Clinical Supervisor/Education and Training Coordinator, Peak Wellness Center, Cheyenne, WY, October 2016–July 2021
- Northeast Regional Clinical Director, Centennial Mental Health Center, Inc., Colorado, December 1998–November 2017 (19 years)
- Adjunct Faculty, Colorado Christian University, August 2010–September 2011
- Program Manager, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program
- Regional Clinical Director, various organisations
Training & Speaking Expertise
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
- Clinical supervision training, including telehealth supervision
- Ethics training specialist with focus on rural practice challenges
- Trauma-informed care
- Substance use disorder ethics and treatment approaches
- Telehealth service delivery best practices
- Human-animal bond therapeutic applications
- Professional coaching and consultation services
Philosophy & Mission
"I am grateful and humbled by the opportunities I have to mentor and nurture professionals on their journey. I am passionate about behavioral health care and ensuring service delivery for some of the most vulnerable in our society. My goal is to focus on solutions, hope, gratitude, identifying and instilling resilience, and finding glimmers in daily lives to facilitate positive change, individually and organizationally."
Ready to serve rural and underserved populations with innovative, culturally responsive approaches? Discover how Jodi Geis-Crowder's solution-focused methods can help you create effective treatment programs while building the professional support networks essential for sustainable rural mental health care.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 5
- Topics 0
- Duration 5 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English