I detta arbete ville jag undersöka hur två gymnasielärare i svenska använde samtalsmetoden lösningsfokus i sina utvecklingssamtal. Jag observerade fem utvecklingssamtal vardera hos de båda lärarna, varpå jag intervjuade dem. Under observationerna såg jag att fokus överfördes till eleverna och de fick även huvudansvaret för sitt skolarbete. Intervjuerna kompletterade bilden och det blev tydligt vilka motiv lärarna hade för att använda lösningsfokus. Till exempel ansåg de att eleverna själva är experter på sitt eget skolarbete, samt på hur de kan arbeta för att nå sina mål. Efter mina undersökningar kunde jag dra slutsatsen att lärarna använder lösningsfokus i sina utvecklingssamtal, exempelvis genom att inte diskutera varför och hur problem har uppstått, utan istället fokusera på hur de kan lösas. Båda lärarna anser att det är ett bra verktyg som påverkar samtalen på ett positivt sätt, bland annat genom att eleven blir mer aktiv och formulerar sina egna lösningar. Lärarna känner också att det är skönt att ha en metod att utgå ifrån, då samtalsmetodik inte fått något nämnvärt utrymme i deras utbildning. / In this essay I wanted to look into how two teachers used solution focus in their development conversations. I observed five development conversations with each teacher, after which I interviewed the teachers. During the observations I saw that focus were transferred on to the students as well as the main responsibility for the students schoolwork. The interviews completed the picture and it became clear what motives the teachers had using solution focus. For example they believed that the students are experts in their own schoolwork and in how they can work to achieve their goals. After my surveys I came to the conclusion that the teachers use solution focus in their development conversations, by not discussing why, or how problems had occurred, but instead to focus on how they can be solved. Both teachers believe that solution focus is a commendable method that influences the conversations in a positive way. The students becomes more active and formulates their owns solutions for example. The teachers also feel that using a certain method provides a sense of security, as they didn’t study conversation methods during their teacher education.

The positive psychotherapy focused on for this study is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Insoo Kim Berg and Yvonne Dolan (2001) once described the essence of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) as the “pragmatics of hope and respect” (p. 1) and despite Berg and Dolan’s declaration of hope’s importance in SFBT, little process research has been published looking at the “pragmatics” of hope in SFBT practice. Hope is seen as a common factor in psychotherapy since the human relationship, also known as the therapeutic alliance, is a foundation of psychotherapy. Hope plays a significant role in every human interaction and it is seen as a common factor in human relationships. To begin to address this gap, a pilot study was conducted of an Insoo Kim Berg training recording, Irreconcilable Differences, in order to explore how she listened, selected and built hope in her work. Based on a SFBT technique focus, the preliminary results suggested Insoo Kim Berg builds hope relationally through the solution-building by working within the clients’ focus and their presenting problem. Four different yet interrelated hope phases in the SFBT solution building process were identified. To address this gap further, based on a SFBT stage focus, three cases by Insoo Kim Berg were analyzed in this study, Irreconcilable Differences, Over the Hump, and I’d Hear Laughter. The goal of this research was to demonstrate the how Berg listened, selected, and built hope with clients to validate her progression within and across the five SFBT solution-building stages, in all three cases through constant comparison, and to show how these findings are congruent with SFBT hopeful tenets. All with the intention of allowing the pragmatics of hope and respect to become more transparent for future SFBT practitioners. Findings suggested building hope appears to be a relational process to building solutions and is co-constructed. Berg demonstrates how she embodies a hopeful stance throughout the duration of therapy. Results show how Berg builds hope within and across her progression of the solution-focused brief therapy solution-building stages, utilizing SFBT techniques and processes, which all align with the foundational SFBT tenets.