ABSTRACT
Ratner, George and Iveson note that the fallibility of human beings means that not only do humans have problems but that they do not 'do' their problems perfectly. There are 'exceptions' to the person's problem if looked for hard enough. This is a core assumption of solution-focused therapy, "It is impossible to behave with total consistency and however stuck in a problem pattern, there will always be exceptions, times when we do something other than the problem, something that with nurturing has the potential to become a solution." The task of the Single-Session Therapy (SST) therapist is, therefore, to help the client find exceptions to the problem which can help towards the development of the solution. Talmon's discusses the case of Pat who came to therapy for help to lose weight. This case shows that developing exceptions was done within an environment-focused change paradigm.
