ABSTRACT
The solution-focused approach can be thought of as a towards approach, rather than an away from approach'. Understanding what clients want from therapy and helping them move toward that future are the central tasks of therapy. Depending on how talkative clients are, an average fifty-five-minute therapy session might have between 5,000 and 10,000 words spoken during the course of the therapeutic hour. When multiple family members are present in a therapy session, there will likely be multiple goals, and varied descriptions of ideal futures. An abacus can be especially helpful when discussing multiple goals or when multiple family members are present. The Miracle Question, developed at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, is perhaps the most famous solution-focused question. It can easily be adapted to children. The crystal ball technique adapted for children projects them into a successful future. Miracles, wishes, dreams, and imagination can take us a long way towards individualized future-focused conversations.
