A solution-focused therapist works on where someone wants to get to, rather than spending time analysing what went wrong or how a difficulty first developed. The approach was developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and is built around a small number of distinctive questions rather than a broader exploratory style.
The questions that define the approach
The best known of these is the miracle question, which asks what someone would notice first, in the small practical details of daily life, if the problem they came with had simply vanished overnight. Scaling questions ask someone to rate where they currently sit on a scale and what would move them even slightly further along it. Finding exceptions looks for the times the problem is already absent, even briefly, and treats those moments as clues to what already works rather than as irrelevant.
Brief by design
Solution-focused therapy is deliberately brief, often running to just three to six sessions in total, and works particularly well with young people and with anyone reluctant to revisit painful past events in detail. Its forward-looking, practical style suits people who want a quick, focused piece of work rather than a longer exploratory therapy.