Build on Your Strengths, Move Forward

If you're tired of going over the same ground, revisiting the same problems, and feeling like therapy is more about dwelling on what's wrong than building what's right — Solution Focused Therapy could be exactly what you're looking for.

At Clear Paths Therapy, we offer Solution Focused Therapy delivered fully online, meaning you can access professional, qualified support from the comfort of your own home, wherever you are in the UK.

Solution Focused Therapy — sometimes referred to as Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) — is a future-oriented, strengths-based therapeutic approach that shifts the focus away from problems and toward possibilities.

Rather than spending extensive time exploring the origins of difficulties, analysing what has gone wrong, or unpacking the past in detail, Solution Focused Therapy asks a different set of questions entirely: What is already working? What does the client want instead? What would life look like if things were better? And what small steps could move things in that direction?

Developed in the 1980s by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, Solution Focused Therapy emerged from the observation that clients often already possess the resources, strengths, and capacities they need to create change — they simply need the right support to identify and build on them.

The result is an approach that is empowering, practical, and often produces meaningful progress in a shorter timeframe than many traditional therapeutic models.

Solution Focused Therapy is built on a set of core principles that distinguish it from more traditional problem-focused approaches:

Focus on solutions, not problems - While the presenting difficulty is acknowledged and respected, the primary focus of the work is on what the client wants instead — and what is already moving, however slightly, in that direction.

Building on existing strengths - Solution Focused Therapy operates from the belief that clients are resourceful and capable. The therapist's role is not to fix the client, but to help them identify and amplify the strengths, skills, and strategies they already possess.

Small steps create big change - Rather than waiting for a major breakthrough, Solution Focused Therapy focuses on identifying small, concrete steps that can begin to shift things in the right direction. Progress builds on progress, and even modest changes can create significant momentum over time.

The client is the expert - In Solution Focused Therapy, the client is regarded as the expert on their own life. The therapist brings a framework and a set of tools; the client brings the knowledge, experience, and wisdom that makes the work meaningful and relevant to their actual life.

Future focus - While past experiences are not ignored, Solution Focused Therapy is primarily concerned with where the client is going rather than where they have been. This forward-looking orientation tends to feel energising and motivating rather than heavy or demoralising.

Solution Focused Therapy is a versatile approach that can be effective across a wide range of difficulties and goals. At Clear Paths Therapy, it may be used to support clients experiencing:

Anxiety and Stress - By shifting focus from what is causing anxiety to what calm, confident functioning looks and feels like, Solution Focused Therapy helps clients to build a clearer and more accessible sense of how things can be different.

Low Confidence and Self-Esteem - Solution Focused Therapy is particularly effective for confidence issues, helping clients to identify times when they have felt capable and resourceful — and to build on those experiences rather than being defined by the times when they haven't.

Life Transitions and Feeling Stuck - Whether navigating a career change, a relationship shift, a move, or simply a sense of being at a crossroads, Solution Focused Therapy provides a structured and supportive way to clarify what you want and begin moving toward it.

Depression and Low Mood - By focusing on exceptions — times when things have felt even slightly better — and on what the client values and wants for their life, Solution Focused Therapy can help to shift the heaviness of depression and reconnect people with a sense of agency and possibility.

Relationship Difficulties - Solution Focused Therapy can help individuals to identify what they want from their relationships, what is already working, and what small changes could make a meaningful difference to how they connect with others.

Parenting Challenges - The solution-focused approach is particularly well suited to parenting difficulties, helping parents to identify what is already going well and to build practical strategies for the specific challenges they face.

Work and Career - For those navigating professional challenges — burnout, lack of direction, difficult working relationships, or a desire for change — Solution Focused Therapy provides a practical, goal-oriented framework for moving forward.

Personal Growth and Development - Solution Focused Therapy is not only for those in crisis. It is equally well suited to people who are functioning well but want to live with greater intention, clarity, and fulfilment.

Grief and Loss - While grief often requires space to be heard and acknowledged, Solution Focused Therapy can gently support clients in beginning to reconnect with what matters to them and what a meaningful life forward might look like.

Solution Focused Therapy sessions at Clear Paths Therapy are delivered fully online via Zoom, in a calm, private, and professional setting. Sessions are 50 minutes in length.

Here is what you can typically expect:

Check in and focus - Each session begins with a brief check in — how things have been since the last session, what has gone well, and what you'd like to focus on today. Even small positive changes are noticed and explored, as these provide important information about what is working.

Goal clarification - A central element of Solution Focused Therapy is developing a clear, detailed picture of what the client wants — not just the absence of the problem, but the presence of something better. Your therapist may use tools such as the Miracle Question to help you articulate this vision in concrete, meaningful terms.

Exploring exceptions - Your therapist will help you to identify times when the problem has been less present, or when you have coped better than expected. These exceptions are not coincidences — they contain valuable clues about the resources and strategies that are already available to you.

Scaling - A simple but powerful tool used in Solution Focused Therapy, scaling involves rating where you currently are on a scale of one to ten in relation to your goal — and then exploring what it would take to move one point further up the scale. This keeps the work concrete, measurable, and forward-moving.

Between session tasks - At the end of each session, your therapist may suggest small, practical experiments or observations to carry out before the next session — designed to build on what has emerged and to keep the momentum of change moving forward in everyday life.

Does Solution Focused Therapy ignore the past? No. Solution Focused Therapy acknowledges and respects the past and the difficulties a client has experienced. It simply chooses not to make the past the primary focus of the work. If exploring past experiences would be helpful, this can be incorporated — particularly when Solution Focused Therapy is used alongside other approaches such as EMDR or Clinical Hypnotherapy.

Is Solution Focused Therapy suitable for serious difficulties? Yes. While Solution Focused Therapy is sometimes associated with brief, coaching-style work, it is a well-established therapeutic approach that can be used effectively with a wide range of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and significant life challenges.

How many sessions will I need? Solution Focused Therapy is often described as a brief therapy — many clients experience meaningful progress in a relatively small number of sessions. That said, the length of the work is always tailored to the individual. Some clients benefit from a short, focused course of sessions; others prefer to work over a longer period. Your therapist will discuss this openly with you.

What is the Miracle Question? The Miracle Question is one of the most well known tools in Solution Focused Therapy. It asks the client to imagine that overnight, while they were asleep, a miracle occurred and the problem was resolved — and then to describe in detail what would be different. This powerful question helps clients to articulate their goals in vivid, concrete terms and to begin to move toward them.

Can Solution Focused Therapy be combined with other approaches? Yes — and at Clear Paths Therapy, it regularly is. Solution Focused Therapy works particularly well alongside Clinical Hypnotherapy, NLP, and Positive Psychology as part of a tailored, integrative approach.

Is Solution Focused Therapy evidence based? Yes. Solution Focused Therapy has a well-established evidence base, with research supporting its effectiveness across a range of settings and presenting difficulties including anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties.