• Welcome
• Steve & Insoo
• Conferences
  • 2007 Brugge
  • 2006 Krakow
  • 2004 Amsterdam
  • 2003 Berlin
  • 2002 Cardiff
• Research
  • Research Grant
  • SFBT Evaluation List
  • The Multi-Center Research
  • SFBT Research Definition
  • Articles Online
  • SFBT Research-links Info
  • SFBT Listservers
  • Files
    • Luc Isebart
    • Lonnen
    • Warner
    • shivo
    • Panayotoy
    • Morejon Beyebach
    • Tollington
  • Questionaires
  • Research Links
  • Article Search Engines
  • Journals on Psychotherapy
• About us
  • Membership
  • Board
• Links

EUROPEAN BRIEF THERAPY ASSOCIATION OUTCOME STUDY: RESEARCH DEFINITION DESCRIPTION OF THE TREATMENT

Click to download this material as pdf-file

Therapies included in the EBTA Outcome Study should be conducted following the
solution-therapy model as developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg (De
Shazer, 1988, 1991, 1994; de Shazer and Berg, 1992).During the sessions, therapists should focus on clients' goals, exceptions, pretreatment changes and, in general, clients' resources. They should do that by asking the Miracle Question, discussing exceptions and pretreatment changes, by using coping questions and scales. Therapists should do this using their clients' language, and at the same time promote descriptions in specific, small, positive (presence of solutions rather that absence of problems; start of something new rather than stopping something) and interactional terms. Therapists should adopt a respectful, non-blaming and cooperative stance, working towards their clients' goals from within their clients' frame of
reference. After some 45 minutes of conversation with their clients, the therapist may take a break. After this break (or, if no break was taken, simply at the end of the sessions) the therapist should compliment the client(s) and is likely to give some suggestions, following the rules described in de Shazer, 1988. Closing the session, the therapist will consult with the client(s) on whether and when to schedule another session.
Therapies to be included in the sample of the EBTA Outcome Study should include all of or most of the features described above, but have to meet at least all of the following

minimal requirements:

First session
The therapist...
1. ...asks and follows up on the Miracle Question
2. ...asks and follows up on the Progress Scale Question
3. ...compliments the client(s) at the end of the session.
Second and following sessions
The therapist...
4. ...asks "What is better?" at the beginning of the session and follows up on it.
5. ...asks and follows up on the Progress Scale Question.
6. ...compliments the client(s) at the end of the session.
Therapists will have to adjust to the exact wording and (where applicable) timing of these elements, as described in the following sections of this treatment protocol. Therapies where one or more of these elements are missing in one or more of the session can not be included in the sample.
MINIMAL REQUIREMENTS
following sessions:
1. "The therapists asks and follows-up on the Miracle Question"
1.1. The Miracle Question has to be asked in the following way:
"I’d like to ask you a strange question…Suppose…that you go home tonight…and go to bed…and fall asleep as usual…and while you are sleeping, a miracle happens...and the miracle is that the problems that brought you in here are gone…and you don't know because you are sleeping… What will you notice different tomorrow…that will tell you that there has been a miracle?"
1.2. Follow up questions serve the purpose of getting a description in specific, small, positive and interactional terms. They should focus on who will be doing what , where, when and with whom , and may be asked both from the clients' or from somebody else's perspective, for instance:
-How will that be different?
-What w ill you be doing instead when you are no t...?
-When you stop..... what will you do then?
-When you are feeling...... what will you be doing?
-How w ill she n otice th at you are feeling ...?
-Who else will notice your bei ng more...?
-What w ill they do when you.....?
-What w ill you do when she...?
-What w ould b e the first sign that he...?
The therapist may also ask "what else...?" (will the client notice, will the father be doin g, etc.), how the client (or his wife, her friends...) will do that, or what needs to happen so that the client (his wife, her friends...) can see that happening. For instance:
-How will you do that?
-In what way will that be helpful?
-What n eeds to happe n so th at she...?
2. "The therapist asks and follows up on the Progress Scale"
2.1.The Progress Scale has to be asked in the following way:
"On a scale, where 10 stands for the day after the miracle and 0 stands for when the problems that brought you in were at their worst, where would you put yourself right now?
2.2. Follow up questions serve the purpose of getting a description in specific, small, positive and interactional terms. They should focus on who is or will be doing what , where, when and with whom , and may be asked both from the clients' or from somebody else's perspective.
Follow up questions of the Progress Scales may be used to:
2.2.1. Amplify exceptions and/or imp rovements. For instance, the the rapist may ask:
-Now that you are at a..., how have things changed?
-What are you do ing differen t now th at you are at a ...?
-How d id she n otice th at you we re at a....?
-Who else m ay have n otice d your being at a...?
-What d o they d o when you.....?
-What d o you d o when she...?
-What w as the first sign for them that you got up to a...?
The therapist may also ask "what else...?" ( comes into that....., is different now th at you are at a... ), how th e clien t (or his w ife, her friend s...) did go up to that poin t in the scale, or what happened so that the client (his wife, her friends...) could go up to that point in the scale. For instance
-How d id it hap pen th at you went from ... to ....?
-How d id you go from ... to....?
-How d id you kn ow that was the rig ht thin g to do i n order to go up to a ....?
-How did he decide to do that?
-How did that help?
-In what way was that helpful to you?
-How do you kno w you can do more of it?
-What needs to h appen so that you can d o more of it?
The therapist may also ask how come thin gs are not further down on the scale, how the client has been able to keep at that point,what is the highest he has ever been on the scale, etc.
2.2.2. Discuss next steps towards goals, for instance:
-How will you notice th at you are at a... (one poin t more on the scale)?
-What w ill she b e doin g different w hen you are at a...?
-What w ill be go ing on betwe en her an d you on ce you are at a...?
-At a ... how o ften will yo u be d oing....?
-What n eeds to happe n so th at you can go up to a....?
2.2.3. Negotiate intermediate goals, for instance:
-How much on the scale would be "good enough" for you?
-At what point on the scale do you think you could stop coming in here?
-If that happened, how much higher on the scale would you be?
2.2.3. Other questions
3. "The therapist compliments the client(s) at the end of the session"
3.1. During the session the therapist may compliment the client(s) by making remarks using the client’s language and quoting their statements (eg goals, exceptions, resources) on what they have done, are doing, or plan to do that is helpful, positive or valuable.
3.2. Compliments should be given at the end of the session, within the last five minutes of the session. They may be followed by homework assignments or suggestions.
Examples of comp liments:
-The team and I are imp ressed with how well yo u describe d your pictu re of this day after the
miracle and...
-We th ink that it takes a lot o f courage to come h ere and ....
-We are struck b y how com mitted you are about your daughter.
-I am impressed with how many things you are doing now that seem to work for you.
-The team and I are impres sed wit h how far you have c ome in ...
4. "Return visits. The therapist asks `what is better?' at the beginning of the
session and follows up on it"
4.1. The therapist asks "what is better (since the last time you were here)?".
4.2. This question should be the opening of the session, and therefore should be asked
within the first two minutes of the session.
4.3. Follow up questions serve the purpose of getting a description in specific, small, positive and interactional terms. They should focus on who has been doing what, where, when and with whom , and might be asked both from the clients' or from somebody else's perspective, for instance:
-How has that changed?
-What have you been doing instead, when you've not...?
-When you stopped..... what did you do then?
-When you are feeling...... what do you do?
-How d id she n otice th at you we re feeling ...?
-Who else no ticed yo ur bein g more...?
-What d id they d o whe n you.....?
-What d id you d o whe n she...?
-What w as the first sign that he...?
The therapist may also ask "what else...?" ( is better, did the client notice, was the father doing, etc.), how the client (or his w ife, her friends...) did that, or w hat happen ed so that the client (his wife, her friends...) could see that happening:
-How did you do that?
-How did you know that was the right thing to do?
-How did he d ecide to do that?
-How did that help?
-In what way was that helpful to you?
-How do you kno w you can do mo re of it?
-What needs to h appen so that you can d o more of it?
3.4 Ask and follow up on Progress Scale questions (as paragraph 2).
3.5 The therapist compliments the client(s) in relation to this session (as paragraph 3).
Mark Beyebach – Salamanca – for Bruges Research Group. 26 May 2000