ABSTRACT
Solution-focused (SF) group therapy offers an opportunity for children and adolescents to discover new ways to handle interpersonal challenges. Research demonstrates SF groups to be highly effective with a variety of concerns, ages, and contexts. This chapter provides considerations for forming groups, selecting group members, and conducting SF group therapy. Appropriate procedural and process norms and therapeutic factors are also discussed. The authors discuss group stages according to Corey and possible creative and playful SF approaches for each stage, with consideration for therapeutic factors as discussed by Yalom. For example, creating a puzzle and putting it together provides a way for children and adolescents to develop cohesiveness while expressing their individuality in the initial stage of group. In the ending stage of therapy, the therapist might conduct a reunion, wherein the clients select a miniature for a sandtray and pretend they are coming together at some point in the future. At the reunion, they discuss what they did to reach their goals. This activity focuses on the therapeutic factors of instillation of hope, cohesiveness, and universality.
