Solution-focused brief therapy

I was interested to read the paper on solution-focused brief therapy by Iveson (2002), and the commentary by Göpfert (2002).

Solution-focused brief therapy is a valuable treatment approach within psychiatry, although the outcome research shows that other approaches are needed for some patients.

Göpfert states that the use of solution-focused brief therapy is held back because the training culture is ‘for-profit, private’. In fact, there has been an accredited training course at St Martin's College, Carlisle, for 5 years. There are college-based courses at Guildford and Canterbury and an MA in solution-focused brief therapy at the University of Birmingham. None of these courses is based on private funding.

Training in other approaches to psychotherapy relies heavily on non-public funding from various sources. Training costs are significantly less in solution-focused brief therapy than in other psychotherapies.