ABSTRACT
An experienced solution-focused colleague once told of an “Aha” moment in his career as a supervisor. Another colleague, new to Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), had been keen to improve his solution-focused practice. Together, they arranged some live supervision: the supervisee endeavouring to use SFBT with a family who were looking for help, and the supervisor watching through a one-way screen. By the time the supervisee took a break, the supervisor had noticed many missed opportunities. The family had spoken of times when the problem had not been around, but the supervisee had not explored exceptions. Goals for change had not been established. A scaling question (0 to 10, worst to best) had revealed movement from 3 to 5, but the difference had not been clarified. Opportunities to compliment the family on qualities that could be useful resources in resolving their difficulties had passed by unnoticed. And no miracle question had been asked. During the break, the supervisor commented on what he had noticed and made some suggestions, and the supervisee went back into the therapy room to conclude the interview. The same things happened over the course of the next two sessions. By the third session, it was quite clear that the supervisee was making no progress at all. If anything, the supervisee was becoming more hesitant and confused in his interviewing, and the supervisor started to doubt not only the supervisee’s potential to grasp SFBT but also his own capacity as a supervisor. More alarmingly, the problems for the family were getting worse. Then suddenly, during the fourth session, the “Aha” moment arose. Feeling like kicking himself, the supervisor realized that while he was usually able to be solution-focused in his practice, he was not being at all solution-focused in his supervision. So this time, he looked out for what the supervisee did well. He then shared this information during the break and asked how the supervisee thought he might end the session. From then on, both the supervisee and the family made steady progress.
