Dolan Yvonne M. - More than miracles: the state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy

Acclaim for

More Than Miracles

This text is a timely and valuable gathering together of the state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy. Because of the simplicity of the chapters dealing with the core tenets of SFBT, it offers a valuable read for trainees who are working their way through the model. The first chapter is an excellent and simple summary of the whole model, with the verbatims demonstrating the principles. Likewise, experienced practitioners will find a pleasurable and thorough review of their knowledge of SFBT, with the level of detail just right.

Peter W. Cantwell, PhD

Lecturer, Swinburne University and Williams Road

Family Therapy Centre, Victoria, Australia

More Than Miracles

The State of the Art

of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Haworth Brief Therapy Series

Yvonne M. Dolan, MA

Editor

Animal-Assisted Brief Therapy: A Solution-Focused Approach by Teri Pichot and Marc Coulter

More Than Miracles: The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy by Steve de Shazer and Yvonne Dolan with Harry Korman, Terry Trepper, Eric McCollum, and Insoo Kim Berg

Additional Titles of Related Interest

Becoming a Solution Detective: Identifying Your Clients Strengths in Practical Brief Therapy by John Sharry, Brendan Madden, and Melissa Darmody

Brief Psychotherapy with the Latino Immigrant Client by Marlene D. de Rios

Case Book of Brief Psychotherapy with College Students edited by Stuart E. Cooper, James Archer Jr., and Leighton C. Whitaker

Comparative Approaches in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy edited by William Borden

Education and Training in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy edited by Thorana S. Nelson

Handbook of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Clinical Applications edited by Thorana S. Nelson and Frank N. Thomas

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Its Effective Use in Agency Settings by Teri Pichot and Yvonne M. Dolan

The Therapists Notebook for Families: Solution-Oriented Exercises for Working with Parents, Children, and Adolescents by Bob Bertolino and Gary Schultheis

More Than Miracles

The State of the Art

of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Steve de Shazer

Yvonne Dolan

with

Harry Korman

Terry Trepper

Eric McCollum

Insoo Kim Berg

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2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

PUBLISHERS NOTE

The development, preparation, and publication of this work has been undertaken with great care. However, the Publisher, employees, editors, and agents of The Haworth Press are not responsible for any errors contained herein or for consequences that may ensue from use of materials or information contained in this work. The Haworth Press is committed to the dissemination of ideas and information according to the highest standards of intellectual freedom and the free exchange of ideas. Statements made and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher, Directors, management, or staff of The Haworth Press, Inc., or an endorsement by them.

Identities and circumstances of individuals discussed in this book have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Material fromWittgenstein, L. (1970), Wittgenstein: Zettel (trans. G.E.M. Anscombe & G. H. von Wright), Ed. G.E.M. Anscombe is reprinted by permission of University of California Press.

Cover design by Jennifer M. Gaska.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

De Shazer, Steve.

More than miracles : the state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy / Steve de Shazer, Yvonne Dolan ; with Harry Korman... [et al.].

p. ; cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-0-7890-3397-0 (case : alk. paper)

ISBN: 978-0-7890-3398-7 (soft : alk. paper)

1. Solution-focused brief therapy. I. Dolan, Yvonne M., 1951- II. Korman, Harry. III. Title.

[DNLM: 1. Psychotherapy, Briefmethods. 2. Problem Solving. WM 420.5.P5 D278m 2007]

RC489.S65D38 2007

616.8914dc22 2006035945

This book is dedicated to Steve de Shazer with deep respect

CONTENTS

About the Authors

Steven de Shazer, MSW, was co-developer of solution-focused brief therapy. He published numerous journal articles and five groundbreaking books: Patterns of Brief Family Therapy; Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy; Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy; Putting Difference to Work; and Words Were Originally Magic. His books have been translated into 14 languages. He died in September 2005 in Vienna.

Yvonne Dolan, MA, has published five books and numerous articles and chapters on solution-focused brief therapy. She has been a psychotherapist for 30 years. She lectures and teaches seminars around the world on solution-focused brief therapy.

Harry Korman, MD, works in private practice in Malm, Sweden, with families, children, adults, and couples. He supervises and teaches solution-focused therapy in a number of areas within the mental health field and parallel fields. He worked in child and adult psychiatry for 15 years before entering into private practice in 1996. He is a physician, a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, a family therapist, and a supervisor in family therapy. He is the author of Snacka om mirakel (1994), available for free in an English translation at www.sikt.nu.

Terry S. Trepper, PhD, is Director of the Family Studies Center at Purdue University Calumet, Professor of psychology, and Professor of marriage and family therapy. He is an APA Fellow, an AAMFT Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor, an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Sexology. He is the editor of the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, the editor in chief of The Haworth Press Behavioral & Social Sciences book program, and co-author of five previous books. He maintains a private practice in family psychology.

Eric E. McCollum, PhD, LCSW, LMFT, is Professor and Clinical Director of Virginia Techs Marriage and Family Therapy Program in Falls Church. A mental health professional for 30 years, he has been involved in research and training in the substance abuse field for the past 12 years. Dr. McCollum, with Dr. Terry Trepper, is co-author of Family Solutions for Substance Abuse, a solution-focused approach to family therapy for substance-abusing adults and adolescents. With his colleagues Dr. Sandra Stith and Dr. Karen Rosen, he has also helped develop and test a solution-focused couples treatment model for domestic violence.

Insoo Kim Berg, MSW, is, along with her husband, the late Steve de Shazer, the primary original developer of the solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) approach. A world-renowned psychotherapist, lecturer, and author, she is Executive Director of the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee, and trains therapists all around the world in the SFBT approach. A prolific writer, she has authored numerous articles clarifying the SF approach, and 10 previous groundbreaking books elucidating its application to a wide variety of clinical, social service, and other settings. Her books, which have been translated into many languages, include, among others,