The purpose of our study is to examine how parents experienced their participation and their involvement in a solution-focused parenting group. The parenting groups are a part of the social welfare system in a town in south of Sweden. The study is conducted as a qualitative study with focus groups. 11 parents have participated. The study´s theoretical framework considers solution focused theory, social constructionism and process within groups.In the study we found that participants generally perceived their participation as positive and that they received confirmation by meeting other parents in the same situation. Participants’ expectations for practical tips and advice were fulfilled indirectly through their participation, but the focus of the parent group was to strengthen the participants themselves by thinking solution-focused. Although the participants did not receive the practical advice they initially expected, the parent group's approach felt to be positive and the participants have understood the idea behind the solution-focused approach. Overall, participants felt that they have become stronger as people and thus also as parents.The study shows that based on the parents’ statements the group leaders have throughout the parenting groups been faithful to the solution focused idea and have implemented this way of thinking within its participants.This study can be seen as a contribute to the development of future solution focused parenting groups. It also shows that there is a need for parenting groups and that this kind of activity can generate positive effects for participants.

På Hälsocenter Västmanland arbetar personalen utefter samtalsmodellen lösningsfokus i möten med klienter. Lösningsfokus är en modell vars syfte är att skapa en framtidsbild i samband med en förändring, främst hos individer men även i grupper eller organisationer. Lösningsfokus är en modell som fokuserar på erfarenheter och resurser hos individer. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur personalen på Hälsocenter Västmanland upplever att modellen lösningsfokus fungerar i möten med klienterna. För att svara på syftet användes en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjupersonerna till studien var personal på Hälsocenter Västmanland som arbetar nära klienter tillsammans med modellen lösningsfokus. Datamaterialet analyserades med hjälp av en induktiv manifest innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att lösningsfokus är en modell som bidrar med ett positivare beteende hos klienterna som kommer till Hälsocenter Västmanland. Modellen upplevdes inte som påfrestande för personalen då det är klienterna själva som ska komma fram till lösningar och hitta sina resurser. Dock ansågs det vara svårt att använda modellen om klienterna inte hade någon eller nedsatt kognitiv förmåga. / The employees at Hälsocenter Västmanland works with a model called solution-focus. Solution-focus is a model with the aim to create a image of the future in the context of a change, mainly individually but also in groups and organizations. Solution-focus is a model that focuses on experiences and resources of individuals. The purpose of the study was to examine how the staff at Hälsocenter Västmanland was experiencing the model solution- focus in meetings with clients. To answer the purpose a qualitative approach was used with semi-structured interviews. The respondents in the study were the employees at Hälsocenter Västmanland who works with clients along with the model solution-focus. The data was analyzed using an indicative manifest content analysis. The result showed that the solution- focus is a model that contributes to a positive behavior in the clients who comes to Hälsocenter Västmanland. The model is not perceived as stressful for the staff since it is the clients themselves who must come up with solutions and find resources within their lives. However, it can be difficult to use the model if the clients do not have any, or have a reduced cognitive ability.

Bakgrund: Kvalitetsutveckling inom vården pågår i hela världen. Internationell forskning indikerar att förbättringscoacher kan vara en framgångsfaktor i förbättringsarbetet. Det är i dag oklart hur man kan utveckla interna coacher till att stödja kontinuerliga förbättringar. Studien utvärderar ett lokalt, tvärprofessionellt coachprogam inom vård och omsorg i ett geografiskt område i Sverige med en etablerad samverkanskultur. För att främja ökad kundcentrering ingick en pensionär i programmets planeringsgrupp. Deltagarna introducerades i grundläggande förbättringskunskap och i lösningsfokuserat arbetssätt som ett sätt att bättre kunna hantera komplexiteten i vård och omsorg. Programmet utformades med åtta gemensamma träffar under perioden mars till oktober 2011.   Syfte: Att identifiera faktorer i ett lokalt coachprogram som framstår som mest väsentliga för att medarbetare i vård och omsorg ska kunna gå in i rollen som förbättringscoacher. Metod: Studien är en observerande fallstudie med inslag av aktionsforskning och en induktiv kvalitativ ansats. Deltagare i studien var blivande coacher, pensionärer, planeringsgruppen och erfarna coacher. Sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt 17 personer genomfördes, samt analys av lokala dokument och fyra enkäter. Data analyserades genom en manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys och triangulering. Resultatet validerades av samtliga deltagare i studien. Resultat: Involvering av pensionärer ansågs vara en viktig faktor eftersom det förstärkte kundfokuseringen. Deltagarna i studien poängterade att kundfokus, ett lösningsfokuserat förhållningssätt, nätverk och systemförståelse var grundläggande för utvecklingen av coachrollen. Dessa faktorer bedömdes som viktigare än de specifika förbättringsverktygen. Diskussion: De mest väsentliga faktorerna kan delas in i det som uppmuntrade till idéer, vilja, görande och uthållighet. Pensionärsinvolveringen förstärkte kundfokuseringen, och det lösningsfokuserade arbetssättet framstod som ett bra komplement till de sedvanliga förbättringsverktygen. Det vore intressant att jämföra detta program med förbättringsprogram i andra kontexter. / Background: Internal improvement coaches can support quality improvement efforts. The study is about a local interprofessional coach training program in a region in Sweden with an established culture of collaboration. The program included participants from different health care disciplines and was organized over eight days between March and October 2011. A senior citizen was involved in faculty and participated during all training sessions. The participants were introduced to basic improvement knowledge and a solution focused approach.Purpose: To explore essential elements of a local coach training program and what appears to be crucial in moving into the role of being an improvement coach.Method: The study is a mix methods case study with elements of action research and an inductive qualitative approach. Participants in the study were prospective coaches, senior citizens, the program team, and experienced coaches. Data were collected through seven semi-structured group interview sessions with a total of 17 individuals, document analysis and 4 questionnaires. Data were analyzed using a manifest content analysis and triangulation. The results were validated by all participants in the study.Results: The data suggest that the involvement of a senior citizen was essential for strengthening customer focus. Participants in the study pointed out that customer focus, developing a value base, networking skills with a solution focused approach and systems thinking were fundamental to the development of the coaching role. These factors were assessed as more important than improvement tools.Discussion: The results can be divided into those which encouraged ideas, will, execution, and endurance. Senior citizen involvement enhanced customer focus and the solution-focused approach seems to be a valuable addition to the usual improvement tools. It would be interesting to compare this program with other improvement programs or in other contexts.

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.