ABSTRACT
As I suspect is the experience of most trainers, students who are completely new to therapy find it easiest to grasp the philosophy and practice principles of solution-focused brief therapy. Those with prior training and practice in other approaches find it hard to give up old habits. Even where questions asking them what they hope to gain from the training reveals that they are completely stuck with their clients and eager to do something different, they often say they hope to acquire more expertise. Pre-course work asking them to identify existing skills (see, for example, Sharry, Madden, & Darmody, 2001, pp. 16-21) actually makes it harder for them to yield expertise because they often identify skills that are embedded in the original method (for example, ‘I am good at relapse prevention’) or so vague as to be almost meaningless (for example, I’m a good listener’). As they begin to practice the techniques, they find it hard to resist the lure of problem talk and the editing of conversations which are then reproduced in their own professional languages.
