Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).

Most of studies have revealed that children entering foster care have various mental health problems and need help of mental health care professionals. Unfortunately, many authors notice that psychological help rendered for foster children lack organization, for mental health care professionals giving services for foster children are forced to use methods, which empirically are tested among adults or among children having specific mental health disorders or to use methods without empirical proof. Thus issue concerning effective psychotherapeutic methods for foster children remains especially relevant. The aim of the study is to assess the potential of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) improving psychosocial functioning of adolescents in foster care and factors related to better outcome of the SFBT. Research group consisted of 228 adolescents living in foster care homes (12-18 years old). 47 adolescents participated in SFBT group, 47 adolescents from the rest of the group were selected for control group. Research methods: 1) three methods for evaluation of psychosocial functioning; 2) five methods for evaluation of intervention outcomes. Research consisted of three stages: 1) evaluation of the psychosocial functioning of adolescents living in foster care; 2) intervention for treatment group; 3) evaluation of the changes in psychosocial functioning after the period of 6 weeks since first evaluation. Research results demonstrated that SFBT is an effective method for... [to full text] / Tyrimai rodo, kad į valstybės globą patenka psichikos sveikatos sunkumų turintys vaikai, kuriems būtina įvairių psichikos sveikatos priežiūros specialistų pagalba. Vis tik pastebima, kad psichologinė pagalba globojamiems vaikams ne tik Lietuvoje, bet ir užsienyje dažniausia teikiama nesistemingai, taikant metodus, kurių efektyvumas patvirtintas kitose amžiaus, socialinio statuso ar problemų grupėse, tad specifinių psichologinės pagalbos metodų, efektyviai veikiančių būtent globojamų vaikų grupėje, klausimas išlieka itin aktualus. Pagrindinis šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti Į sprendimus sutelkto trumpalaikio konsultavimo (SSTK) galimybes, skatinant geresnį globojamų paauglių psichologinį-socialinį funkcionavimą ir problemų sprendimą, bei veiksnius, susijusius su geresniais konsultavimo rezultatais. Tyrime dalyvavo 228 paaugliai (12-18 m.), gyvenantys vaikų globos namuose. 47 iš jų buvo konsultuoti, taikant SSTK modelį, 47 – sudarė kontrolinę grupę. Tyrime taikyti metodai: 1) trys psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo vertinimo metodai, 2) penki poveikio efektyvumo vertinimo metodai. Tyrimo planą sudarė trys etapai: 1) vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo tyrimas; 2) poveikio vykdymas; 3) vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo pokyčių, praėjus šešioms savaitėms po pirmojo įvertinimo, tyrimas. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad SSTK yra efektyvus vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių problemoms... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

No / This paper describes the evaluation of a short training course in solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) skills. This evaluation examined the relevance of SFBT skills to nursing and the extent to which a short training course affected nurses¿ communication skills. Nurses¿ communication skills have been criticized for many years, as has the training in communication skills that nurses receive. The absence of a coherent theoretical or practical framework for communication skills training led us to consider the utility of SFBT as a framework for a short training course for qualified nurses, the majority of them are registered nurses working with adults. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected: the former using pre- and post-training scales, the latter using a focus group conducted 6 months after the training. Data were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and content analysis. Quantitative data indicated positive changes in nurses¿ practice following the training on four dimensions, and changes in nurses¿ willingness to communicate with people who are troubled reached levels of significance. Qualitative data uncovered changes to practice, centred on the rejection of problem-orientated discourses and reduced feelings of inadequacy and emotional stress in the nurses. There are indications that SFBT techniques may be relevant to nursing and a useful, cost-effective approach to the training of communication skills. Solution focused brief therapy provides a framework and easily understood tool-kit that are harmonious with nursing values.

This study examined the perceptions of elementary school counselors regarding their experience in using solution-focused brief counseling for meeting the demanding responsibilities of their job and the particular needs of the students they serve. Specifically, the four research questions addressed the school counselors' perceptions regarding: (1) use and importance of particular solution-focused techniques; (2) effectiveness of solution-focused strategies in addressing specific student issues; (3) training in solution-focused brief counseling; and (4) use of this approach in settings other than the counseling office. The data for this study were collected from elementary school counselors in Virginia who had previously received training in solution-focused brief counseling. This training was provided by their school systems as inservice and was conducted by the same workshop leader in all instances. The school counselors were sent a questionnaire that was developed by the researcher. The survey contained a selection of Likert-style scale questions, yes/no items, rank-order items, and open-ended questions. The final section contained questions designed to obtain demographic information about the respondent and the school and students they served. The researcher conducted a follow-up interview with several school counselors to supplement the survey data. The data analysis was descriptive and relational in nature. The findings of the study indicate that elementary school counselors who have received training in solution-focused brief counseling philosophies and techniques find it important and useful for working with children. The majority of the school counselors indicated that they use all of the solution-focused techniques listed in the survey to at least some degree. Their responses to the survey indicated the perception that this approach is effective with various student issues. The school counselors reported the perception that they have some proficiency with solution focused brief counseling and that they have interest in pursuing more training. The school counselors also indicated that they were able to use solution-focused brief counseling philosophies in school settings other than the counseling office. In summary, school counselors appear to have a relatively positive perception of solution-focused brief counseling as an approach for working with elementary age school students. Recommendations for practice and future research are presented. / Ph. D.

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.

This thesis is a study of the experiences of nurses who have undertaken training in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). While the clinical outcomes of using SFBT, and other psychological therapies, to treat clients have been the subject of much research, the outcomes of training therapists to use SFBT has been relatively unexplored. It is, therefore, my intention to address, in part, this uncharted area of practice. Utilising a mixed methodology, the study is divided into two Stages. In Stage I, an original Solution Focused (SF) methodology is developed and used to conduct individual interviews with twenty participants. Interviews are transcribed and treated as narrative texts, and are then subjected to multi-factored analysis enabling the synthesis of a ‘group narrative’ and the construction of a typology of experience. In Stage II, I conduct further in-depth interviews with three of the original participants and utilise a hermeneutic methodology, drawing on the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer, to engage with the texts generated from these interviews. The texts are explored thematically, and through the nursing metaparadigm of Jacqueline Fawcett, and are compared with a metaparadigm of SF practice. The research suggests that training is SFBT can have a profound effect on the clinical practice, and professional identity, of nurses, and that this is related to the paradigm of nursing which informs their practice. Where the nursing paradigm is of the dominant ‘assessment and delivery of care needs’ modality, SFBT training has little to offer the nurse; however, where the nursing paradigm reflects an ‘interpersonal, dynamic’ modality based on shared relationships, training in SFBT can be a transformative experience for the nurse. This research makes an original contribution to the field of SFBT and to our understanding of the relationship between SFBT and nursing. Building on the work of earlier scholars, it argues that SFBT is congruent with some nursing paradigms, and not all nursing paradigms as previously suggested. It also advances our understanding of how the scope and field of SF practice may be delineated.

Research indicates the potential utility of schools as sites for service delivery of mental health interventions. The application of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) within the school domain is reflected in the child psychotherapy literature. Findings on the use of SFBT in school settings suggest that it may be well suited to school contexts given its time-efficient, goal-directed, and strengths-based behavioral approach. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of SFBT with at-risk youth in an alternative school setting. The researcher utilized a multiple case study design to examine the impact of a 6-session SFBT intervention on adolescent behavioral outcomes. Six students were randomized to one of three baseline conditions and received the SFBT intervention following baseline data collection. Data were obtained from multiple raters at baseline, posttest, and 6-week follow-up. In addition, students completed self-reported ratings at the beginning of each SFBT intervention session. Data were evaluated using non-regression approaches and visual analyses. Preliminary results indicated that four out of six students exhibited reliable change (6-point increase in post-ORS mean scores), and four out of the six students demonstrated clinically significant change (baseline ORS mean scores below the adolescent clinical cutoff of <28). Results also indicated a decrease in total problem behavior scores at posttest for all informants on a normed assessment of emotional and behavioral functioning. Follow-up data were collected for four out of six students, and results suggested that this decrease in ratings was maintained or decreased further across all raters for three out of the four student participants. Overall, preliminary results indicated the potential utility of SFBT with at-risk youth in an alternative school environment. Strengths and limitations of the current study, as well as additional research aims (e.g., impact of therapist alliance, fidelity monitoring in SFBT) and future research areas are also presented.

Tyrimai rodo, kad į valstybės globą patenka psichikos sveikatos sunkumų turintys vaikai, kuriems būtina įvairių psichikos sveikatos priežiūros specialistų pagalba. Vis tik pastebima, kad psichologinė pagalba globojamiems vaikams ne tik Lietuvoje, bet ir užsienyje dažniausia teikiama nesistemingai, taikant metodus, kurių efektyvumas patvirtintas kitose amžiaus, socialinio statuso ar problemų grupėse, tad specifinių psichologinės pagalbos metodų, efektyviai veikiančių būtent globojamų vaikų grupėje, klausimas išlieka itin aktualus. Pagrindinis šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti Į sprendimus sutelkto trumpalaikio konsultavimo (SSTK) galimybes, skatinant geresnį globojamų paauglių psichologinį-socialinį funkcionavimą ir problemų sprendimą, bei veiksnius, susijusius su geresniais konsultavimo rezultatais. Tyrime dalyvavo 228 paaugliai (12-18 m.), gyvenantys vaikų globos namuose. 47 iš jų buvo konsultuoti, taikant SSTK modelį, 47 – sudarė kontrolinę grupę. Tyrime taikyti metodai: 1) trys psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo vertinimo metodai, 2) penki poveikio efektyvumo vertinimo metodai. Tyrimo planą sudarė trys etapai: 1) vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo tyrimas; 2) poveikio vykdymas; 3) vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių psichologinio-socialinio funkcionavimo pokyčių, praėjus šešioms savaitėms po pirmojo įvertinimo, tyrimas. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad SSTK yra efektyvus vaikų globos namuose gyvenančių paauglių problemoms... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Most of studies have revealed that children entering foster care have various mental health problems and need help of mental health care professionals. Unfortunately, many authors notice that psychological help rendered for foster children lack organization, for mental health care professionals giving services for foster children are forced to use methods, which empirically are tested among adults or among children having specific mental health disorders or to use methods without empirical proof. Thus issue concerning effective psychotherapeutic methods for foster children remains especially relevant. The aim of the study is to assess the potential of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) improving psychosocial functioning of adolescents in foster care and factors related to better outcome of the SFBT. Research group consisted of 228 adolescents living in foster care homes (12-18 years old). 47 adolescents participated in SFBT group, 47 adolescents from the rest of the group were selected for control group. Research methods: 1) three methods for evaluation of psychosocial functioning; 2) five methods for evaluation of intervention outcomes. Research consisted of three stages: 1) evaluation of the psychosocial functioning of adolescents living in foster care; 2) intervention for treatment group; 3) evaluation of the changes in psychosocial functioning after the period of 6 weeks since first evaluation. Research results demonstrated that SFBT is an effective method for... [to full text]

The aim of the study was to look at a particular work group of housing supporters, whomhave implemented two special working methods in their work. The methods have been implemented by two of the housing supporters that also have special education in the methodsSOC (Sense of Coherence) and solution focused brief therapy. The study is based on anethnographic observation and analysis of documents that are used in the implementation. To analyse the information that was given at the observation and in the document I´ve used a theory which illustrates the significance of developing professions so their knowledge become legitimate. I´ve also used a theory that illustrates the importance of implementation and how it´s done at its best. In conclusion, the study shows that the work group have the will to implement new methods in their work. The working group also has the ability to carry out the implementation, butthey are not aware of their own expertise, which should be clarified in order to achieve successful implementation. Difficulties have been demonstrated in terms of the understanding of the new working methods. These difficulties with the understanding of the methods can be a barrier to successful implementation or do so the implementation will take longer time to become successful. The two colleges with specified knowledge became leaders to the group and steered the work group to make decisions based on the methods of SOC and solution focused brief therapy. The investment in providing the housing supporters with special education, space to implement these two working methods also gave effects on the organization.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).