The solution-focused approach
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should understand the framework for, and theory underpinning, the solution-focused approach, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.
A solution-focused approach emphasises that the central focus of intervention is to look for solutions to problem/s, rather than addressing the problems first, then trying to find solutions; it purports there is no need to examine or explore the root of the problem, cause or effect. It links solutions to the present and the future, incurring new directions and inevitable changes.
This approach is also based on the centrality of individual responsibility, ownership, freedom and choice, encouraging the service user to play a more active role in finding solutions that are meaningful to them. It maintains this is possible because individuals have innate resources, abilities and strengths to find their own solutions to problems.
The following quick guide, authored by Marie Joseph, explores the solution-focused approach more fully, including the theory underlying this intervention and its advantages and disadvantages.
Reflective Questions
- Consider the different ways in which this approach encapsulates the ideas of service user self-determination.
- How does this approach challenge the idea that risk can be quantified?
- Reflect on the idea that this approach bridges '...the gap between the managerial agenda and professional practice...' in terms of providing an intervention which is cost effective for the service and empowering for the service user. (Watson and West, 2006, pp.71-72)
Reference:
D Watson and J West (2006) Social Work Process and Practice: Approaches, Knowledge and Skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.