Solution Focused Practice

What is Solution Focused Practice?

Solution Focused Practice is a future-oriented, competency-based approach, with a solid evidence-based practice, with a robust body of research. It has roots at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California and in social constructivism, with strong links to neuroscience. With a deep connection and influence from the brilliant psychiatrist, Milton Erickson, it was developed by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg and their colleagues at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They spent more than 25 years observing hundreds of hours of sessions and preserved what supported desired client change and discarded what didn’t, carefully paying attention to the questions, behaviors, and emotions that helped clients form realistic, achievable, real-life solutions.

SFBT highlights the client’s capabilities and helps them adopt an alternative perspective on their future to build a more realistic and optimistic perspective and help them be aware of their successes, both past and present. It is a pragmatic approach, and draws from what has worked and is working in a person’s life and build’s on these successes to co-create small steps that the client is invested in doing. This model of counseling and consultation began in the therapy room and has been successfully expanded to many other settings. such as education, hospitals. prisons,  government policy, corporate setting, social services and many more. 

The Solution Focused approach is a highly effective model in therapy, education, coaching, consultancy and organizational development.

2024 Solution Focused Brief Therapy Training

If you are looking for an IASTI qualified training institute, you have come to the right place.

All member institutes have training programs in the solution-focused model that aim to teach skills up to the level of IASTI certification. You need to take training and supervision and pass an examination to be certified.

The Academy of Solution Focused Training is one of the Founding Members of the International Alliance of Solution-Focused Teaching Institutes (IASTI)

The following information is from the website of IASTI, go to their website for more information: www.iasti.org

General information about the training

Each level of certification follows training in the solution-focused model as originally developed at Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg (De Shazer, 1988, 1991, 1994; de Shazer and Berg, 1992) and the team.

BFTC developed the solution-focused brief therapy model (SFBT) influenced by the work of Milton Erickson and the MRI institute at Palo Alto. In addition to the model as it was described by Insoo and Steve, the IASTI training may also include later developments and descriptions of how the approach can be used in Solution-Focused practices in a variety of contexts and clients.

Training hours

Each level consists of 50 hours direct formal training and 100 hours personal professional activities.

  • Direct formal training is the organized formal training that is being led by a teacher/trainer. It includes the trainer giving lectures describing the model, but also exercises targeting specific solution-focused techniques, the studying of videotaped sessions, watching live interviews with clients and other work on specific example cases.
  • Personal professional activities are activities that you will be able to exercise in part during your normal working hours or even at home. Since the training and practice of the solution-focused model is meant to be done at least in part within the context of  trainees’  every  day professional activities, you do not necessarily need to allocate exclusive time for all required hours toward certification.
    • Examples of these training activities include: Using solution-focused techniques in sessions and evaluating  the result,  reading assigned solution-focused texts, peer supervision, role plays, keeping a daily diary of observations about resources or other SFBT principles, using the Solution-Focused Micro tools of Michael Hjerth, or other solution-focused learning activities identified by an IASTI Institute.

The proportion between classroom and personal training activities is 1:2 at each level of certification. This reflects the shared view of IASTI Member Institutes that in order to be most successful, trainees need to practice the solution-focused model in their respective  professional environments, and that trainees need to develop their skills in a variety of ways both within and outside of the training classroom.

  • Hours of supervision of the trainee’s work  are regarded by IASTI as an important part of training in the solution-focused model and these are to be included in the total of 150 hours training at each level of certification. Each institute will plan for the inclusion of supervision in their training program with regard to their training tradition and local context.

Level 1: Solution Focused Practitioner

Level 1: Certified Solution Focused Practitioner​

Cohort 2: 9 April – 18 June 2024Open for Registrations

Online Zoom | 3 Hour Sessions | SG: Tuesdays, 7:00 – 10:00 pm | SGD $2,700

Module 1: Online Training | 30 Hours | Cost: SGD $1,500

  • Foundations 1 + Microskills in SFBT: 15 Hours | Dates: 9, 16, 23, 30 Apr; 7 May 2024
  • Foundations 2 + Microskills in SFBT: 15 Hours | Dates: 21, 28 May; 4, 11, 18 Jun 2024

Module 2: Supervision + Assessment + Self Study + Certification | 20 Hrs | Cost: SGD $1,200


Cohort 3: 11 July – 19 September 2024Open for Registrations

Online Zoom | 3 Hour Sessions | SG: Thursdays, 7:00 – 10:00 pm | SGD $2,700

Module 1: Online Training | 30 Hours | Cost: SGD $1,500

  • Foundations 1 + Microskills in SFBT: 15 Hours | Dates: 11, 18, 25 Jul; 1, 8 Aug 2024
  • Foundations 2 + Microskills in SFBT: 15 Hours | Dates: 22, 29 Aug; 5, 12, 19 Sep 2024

Module 2: Supervision + Assessment + Self Study + Certification | 20 Hrs | Cost: SGD $1,200


Cohort 4: 3 August – 5 October 2024 – Open for Registrations

Online Zoom | 3 Hour Sessions | USA CST 10am – 1pm | USD$2,000; SGD$2,700

Module 1: Online Training | 30 Hours

  • Foundations 1 + Microskills: 15 Hours | Dates: 3, 10, 17, 24 Aug 2024
  • Foundations 2 + Microskills: 15 Hours | Dates: 7, 14, 21, 28 Sep; 5 Oct 2024

Module 2: Supervision + Assessment + Self Study + Certification | 20 Hrs | Cost: SGD $1,200


Cohort 5: 17 October – 6 December 2024 – Open for Registrations

In person | 9:00am-5:00pm | Total cost: SGD $2,950

Module 1: 30 Hours | AM Session: 9am-12:30 pm; 1:30pm-5pm | Cost: SGD $1,750

  • Foundations 1: 17 & 18 Oct 2024
  • Foundations 2: 7 & 8 Nov 2024
  • Microskills: 6 Dec 2024

Module 2: Supervision + Assessment + Self Study + Certification | 20 Hrs | Cost: SGD $1,200


Questions? Reach out to: bredaarredondo@sf-academy.com

Register here for Level 1

Level 2: Advanced Solution Focused Practitioner

Level 2: Advanced Solution Focused Practitioner

  Certification requirements, 50 Hours

  • Successful completion of Level 1 
  • 3 Modules, 42 Hours
    • SFBT with Couples and Families
    • SFBT in Education
    • SFBT in Supervision
  • Self-Study, 4 hrs
  • Individual Supervision, 3 hrs
  • Assessment, 1 hr

Level 3: Master Focused Practitioner

Level 3: Master Solution Focused Practitioner

  Certification requirements, 50 Hours

  • Successful completion of Level 2
  • Three online workshops (42 hrs, see below)
  • Self-Study (4 hrs)
  • Supervision (3 hrs)
  • Assessment (1 hr)

SF Advanced Workshops

All advanced workshops are live online training via Zoom

Topics for 2024

  1. SF with Trauma
  2. Utilization Principles of Milton Erickson, 1 day
  3. SF & Suicide Management
  4. Building Resilience with our Clients, 2 days
  5. Professional Self-Care: Keys to Longevity and Wellness, 1 day
  6. Microanalysis of Communication
  7. Introduction to SF Mediation

Interested in Advanced Workshops for 2024?

Fill out the form below to request more information about the workshop schedule for next year. Thanks!

Level 2 & Level 3 Fees

  • Enroll in full program​​
    • $3,000: Three Workshops + Supervision + Assessment + Certification
  • Enroll per workshop
    • $750/pax | Groups: $650/pax
  • Enroll for Supervision & Assessment
    • $850: Supervision + Assessment + Certification​

Workshops can be taken individually. Once the participant completes three workshop modules (equivalent of 6 days of training), they can begin the supervision and assessment. Once training of 42 hours is accomplished + supervision + self-study + passing the assessment, they will qualify for certification.

Certifications We Offer

  • Level 1:  Certified Solution Focused Practitioner
  • Level 2:  Advanced Solution Focused Practitioner
  • Level 3:  Master Solution Focused Practitioner 

Training Format 

International Appeal

  • Convenient for Global audience 
  • Assessable training and certification
  • Connect to a Global community

Taking the SF training with the academy has definitely been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my professional and personal life. Not only has it given me the tools and confidence to practice as a SF therapist over the past many years, it has taught me a radically different way of looking at the difficulties I’ve faced in my own life. Debbie is truly an inspiring teacher, mentor and coach and I’d wholeheartedly recommend anyone to take SF training with Debbie.

Joan Low, Senior School Counsellor, MOE, Yishun JC

I took time to let all the info sink in and made my cheat sheet of questions and I tried it with my students on Friday. Wow! It was SO POWERFUL when we focus on strengths and solutions rather than the problems! I stopped taking the monkeys from my students and I can feel the difference in myself after the whole day – I didn’t feel as drained or as incompetent, even though I had to see three self-harm students in a row. By focusing on the solutions, what they have done, and what they want differently really helps bring the ownership of the situation back to the students! Thank you, Debbie, you’re really a great inspiration! I look forward to the next time I get to learn from you again!”

Kathleen, MOE, School Counsellor

Thank you for the 6 days of training! I’ve truly enjoyed learning and practicing solution talk. It has opened my eyes to new techniques and tools to add into my toolkit when working with clients. I like that it is such a strengths based approach which guides the practitioner to view the client as having the resources to be able to come up with their own solutions. I’m excited to use the techniques learnt with my clients.

Abigail Dui, Singapore Prison Service

I would like to say that the six days spent have given me a wonderful insight into SFBT. I find the live demos, observational videos, and the examples of the variation of questions particularly useful in aiding me towards a better understanding of how SFBT is put into practice. Thank you for the guidance, the wisdom, and the sharing of knowledge.

Norirwansah Bin Ramli, Singapore Children’s Society

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