Solution-focused brief therapy is a great therapeutic approach to use for clients who are struggling with substance abuse and have behavioral problems, and can be used in family sessions, and couples’ sessions. A key difference between SFBT and other approaches is that SFBT doesn’t focus on the individual’s problem or concern, rather it focuses on helping clients find a solution that can help them with their current challenges. Keep reading to learn 55 Solution-Focused Therapy questions you can ask clients in therapy sessions.
There are a few mindsets that are associated with SFBT. This includes:
- If it’s not broken, don’t fix it
- If something works, do more of it
- If something isn’t working, try something else
Mental health professionals who use SFBT in their clinical work use questions, including specific questions, to help clients find solutions to their problems. Additionally, clinicians can offer compliments and ask questions about their strengths to help find solutions. At the end of each session, clinicians provide feedback to their clients.
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Research has shown that solution-focused brief therapy can have a positive effect in a shorter amount of time when compared to other clinical approaches for some clients.
Worksheets can be a valuable resource for clinicians who are using SFBT. Worksheets can help guide your session and provide your client with a form to take home for reference. TherapyByPro offers a variety solution-focused brief therapy worksheets including:
- Overcoming Difficulties with Strengths Worksheet
- SFBT Coping Worksheet
- Strength Finder Worksheet
- Comparing Solutions Worksheet
Getting Ready for Your First Solution-Focused Therapy Session with a New Client
Meeting with a new client can be an exciting time. Having the opportunity to learn about another person’s challenges, fears, and triumphs is one of the great privileges of being a mental health professional. When we meet with a new client, it is important that we take time to assess their concerns and complete the important documentation. Proper assessments are necessary to ensure that you can provide the correct level of care and treatment options for your client’s needs. It is also important to take time to see if you would be compatible with working together.
The paperwork that you are required to complete after meeting a new client will be dependent on the clinical setting that you work in. You may be asked to complete a biopsychosocial assessment, screeners, or specific assessments. Additionally, you will likely need to spend time reviewing an informed consent and complete the appropriate consent of release.
If you are able to receive documentation, screeners, or other assessments, reviewing these before your session can help you gain some insight into your client’s concerns. This can help you navigate your first session by knowing which areas you should be focusing on.
Lastly, an important step in preparing for a first session with a new client is making sure that you are in a place where you are able to sit with and focus on your client. As rewarding as being a mental health professional can be, it is necessary for us to be in touch with our own needs and challenges. Self-care practices can be a regular component of your routine. Depending on your clinical setting, you may have an opportunity to engage in some self-care practices during the day. This can include going for a short walk, listening to music, journaling, or engaging in a mindfulness practice.
Common Questions to Ask in Solution-Focused Therapy
Solution-focused questions can be used to keep sessions on track. Clients may find themselves unintentionally focusing on their problems rather than the intended topic. When we use SFBT questions, we can change the focus to exploring our client’s strengths and skills that can help them manage the concerns they are facing. SFBT questions can be tailored to each client so that they are relevant to their current situation.
SFBT questions can be related to setting goals, exception questions, scaling questions, and competence questions. Solution-focused question examples include:
- What brings you in today?
- Imagine that a miracle occurred while you were asleep tonight, and solved all your concerns and problems. What would be different? What would you be doing differently? What would others notice is different?
- What will you be doing differently in 6 months? (This time frame can be adjusted to reflect your client’s current situation and goals)
- What has kept you from falling apart?
- Can you share with me what your last good day looked like?
- Can you think of a time when you were happy with this relationship?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, one being not well and 10 being the best, how would you rate your response in that situation? Can you share a bit more about why you chose that number and not the one above or below?
- After asking a scaling question, you can ask: What would it take to move you up to the next number on your scale?
- Have you found anything to be helpful?
- What is your “go-to” thing when you are having a tough day?
- What has been working for you?
- Can you tell me what has not been helpful for you in the past?
- Is there anyone in your life that you lean on for support?
- What strengths of yours help you when you are doing well? And what about on the not-so-good days?
- What would you like to be happening instead of this problem or challenge?
- Has anything improved for you since we last met?
- Can you think of a time when this problem didn’t feel so difficult? What was different about that time and now?
- What would be the most useful way to use our time together today?
- How can you respond in that situation to achieve a more ideal outcome?
- What strengths have helped you since we last met?
- Can you think of a time when you surprised yourself by accomplishing something you weren’t sure you could do? What helped you succeed?
- What skills do you have that you feel could be applied to this situation?
- Can you think of assets you have that are working in your favor?
- What would you like to change?
- What is helping you keep this situation from worsening?
- Can you tell a bit about what helps you stay motivated during those tough moments you have been experiencing?
- Can you take a moment to think about any positive experiences or outcomes that could come from this?
- If we take a moment to step back, are there any alternative perspectives to this situation that we could be missing?
- What is one small change you could make today that would help you improve this situation?
- Can you share with me what you are hoping to gain during our time together today?
- Can you share with me some of what has helped or supported you during the challenges in your life?
- Can you tell me about some of the successes you have had in your life?
- Can you tell me about how you handled that situation at the moment?
- Let’s explore a situation where you were able to lessen a challenge or concern for yourself. What skills or strengths helped you do this?
- What do you feel is helping you maintain motivation?
- How are you able to keep yourself moving forward when you experience hardships?
- What are you hoping to achieve from working together?
- Can you tell me about your hobbies and other enjoyable activities you engage in?
- Who is important to you in your life?
- What are you proud of?
- What changes did you notice when that problem or challenge was decreasing?
- How can you show others that you are pleased or happy?
- Were you able to use anything that we talked about in our last session? Did it make a difference?
- What changes have others seen as you have made progress?
- Is there anything about this challenge or problem that makes you believe you can handle it?
- Can you share your thoughts about that?
- What helped you build that skill or strength?
- What changes have you noticed happening already?
- Who else has noticed these changes happening?
- How would you like this situation to differ?
- What can help you get started? What else?
- Is there anything that you would like to stay the same?
- When does this not occur? Why do you think that is?
- What helped you maintain your wellness in the past?
- Are there any skills or strengths you pulled from in this situation? How did they help?
Frequently Asked Clinical Questions
Below are the practical questions clinicians ask when introducing and utilizing Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) discovery questions in therapy sessions:
What primary clinical objective differentiates the Miracle Question from traditional cognitive goal-setting?
Evaluate whether your target clinical strategy prioritizes resolving old symptoms or visualizing a future without the problem. Traditional goal-setting frameworks focus heavily on breaking down current deficits and step-by-step problem reduction. Conversely, the Miracle Question asks clients to imagine a scenario where their concerns vanish overnight. This shifts their mindset entirely toward observing positive changes, alternative behaviors, and preferred futures.
How should a therapist implement exception questions when a client is completely hyper-focused on their struggles?
Gently guide the client to analyze a specific past event when their current problem did not occur or felt less intense. Chronic focus on behavioral problems often creates severe cognitive blocks that blind individuals to their own resilience. Asking targeted exception questions helps uncover hidden instances of successful coping, internal strengths, and functional coping skills. This provides an immediate, reality-based foundation for choosing more effective solutions moving forward.
How can a clinician write objective, measurable treatment plan goals within a non-problem-focused framework?
Frame your progress metrics entirely around the client’s concrete behavioral capacity to leverage strengths and replicate successful exceptions. Avoid documenting vague targets focused on reducing specific psychiatric symptoms or exploring historical trauma. Instead, write clear milestones requiring the client to track their scaling metrics, log daily successes, or complete a Strength Finder worksheet. This translates qualitative solution tracking into empirical data parameters for managed care reviewers.
What core clinical mechanisms explain why SFBT often achieves positive outcomes in a shorter timeframe?
Prioritize reinforcing active solutions and personal competencies rather than spending extended time analyzing problem origins or structural deficits. SFBT strictly operates on the foundational mindset that if something works, the client should do more of it. Bypassing prolonged problem analysis significantly reduces therapeutic friction and prevents long-term resistance. This fast-tracks behavioral momentum by immediately deploying the functional coping assets the client already possesses.
How should a therapist safely adjust their clinical approach when a client’s go-to solution is completely counterproductive?
Utilize scaling questions and competitive analysis worksheets to help the client objectively evaluate the utility of their choices. If a client insists a harmful or avoidance-based behavior is helpful, avoid direct, non-collaborative confrontation. Guide them to rate their response on a 1-to-10 scale and review a Comparing Solutions Worksheet together. This safely highlights planning gaps and motivates the client to try something else.
Final Thoughts On Asking the Right Questions in Solution-Focused Therapy
Thank you for reading this resource on 55 Solution-Focused Therapy questions you can ask clients in therapy sessions. Solution-focused brief therapy can be a great approach for clinicians who are looking to make progress in a short period of time for some mental health concerns. By focusing more on the solution than the problem, you can help your client recognize and apply the skills and strengths they already have to the current challenges they are experiencing. Clients may find that this approach helps them gain insight into what has been going well, improving, and working for them.
As with all therapeutic approaches, it is important to be mindful of the limitations associated with solution-focused brief therapy. If you are interested in learning more about solution-focused brief therapy, you can look for available training and Continuing Education opportunities for you. We encourage you to be mindful of the expectations associated with your profession before beginning to use a new therapeutic approach. This can include education and supervised application of new skills and interventions.
TherapyByPro is a trusted resource for mental health professionals worldwide. Our therapy tools are designed with one mission in mind: to save you time and help you focus on what truly matters-your clients. Every worksheet, counseling script, and therapy poster in our shop is professionally crafted to simplify your workflow, enhance your sessions, reduce stress, and most of all, help your clients.
Want to reach more clients? We can help! TherapyByPro is also a therapist directory designed to help you reach new clients, highlight your expertise, and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others.
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View all of our Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Worksheets
Resources:
Bannink, F.P. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 37, 87–94 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-006-9040-y