What in the World?

1. 2008 Conference onSolution-Focused Practices SolutioNationThe Next Generation ofSolution-Focused therapyBob Bertolino, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, School of Health ProfessionsMaryville University – St. Louis, MissouriSr. Clinical Advisor, Youth In Need, Inc. – St. Charles, Missouri

2. What in the World? • What kind of practitioners do we aspire to be? • What kinds of practices/settings do we want to create and work in? • What kinds of communities do we want to create and live in? • What kind of world do we want?

3. Underneath it All PRACTICES “What we do” ↑ THEORY/MODELS “How we think” ↑ PERSONAL PHILOSOPHIES “How we are”

4. SOLUTION-FOCUSED Clients have strengths and resources Emphasis is on differences, exceptions, and solutions Focus is on health/well-being Belief is people have good intentions, are cooperative Change is inevitable Change can happen quickly Focus is on creating small changes that lead to bigger ones Therapy is collaborative Clients’ perspectives drive therapy Emphasis is on the present and future 4 RESEARCH AGENDAS Client Contributions The Therapeutic Relationship and Alliance Cultural Competence Change as a Process Expectancy and Hope Method and Factor of Fit Shifting Our Attention

6. Convergence? • Interpretations of data are most frequently are drawn from thesame studies and the same body of research (Beutler & Castonguay, 2006). • Castonguay and Beutler (2006), “We think that psychotherapy research has produced enough knowledge to begin to define the basic principles that govern therapeutic change in a way that is not tied to any specific theory, treatment model, or narrowly defined set of concepts” (p. 5). Beutler, L. E., & Castonguay, L. G. (2006). The task force on empirically based principles of therapeutic change. In L. G. Castonguay & L. E. Beutler (Eds.), Principles of therapeutic change that work (pp. 3–10). New York: Oxford University Press. Castonguay, L. G., & Beutler, L. E. (2006). Common and unique principles of therapeutic change: What do we know and what do we need to know? In L. G. Castonguay & L. E. Beutler (Eds.), Principles of therapeutic change that work (pp. 353–369). New York: Oxford University Press.

7. Convergence = Principles of Change? • Client Contributions • The Therapeutic Relationship and Alliance • Cultural Competence • Change as a Process • Expectancy and Hope • Method and Factor of Fit Bertolino, B. (in press). Strengths-based engagement and practice: Creating effective helping relationships. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

8. Influencing Each Other? • Solution-Focused/Solution-Oriented Therapy • Positive Psychology • Appreciative Inquiry • “Good to Great” • The Medici Effect

9. SolutioNAtionThe Future?

10. Future Considerations • A focus on philosophical underpinnings and their influence on the development of theory and practice • Practitioners: • Therapist effects • Expanding the scope of competency to include effectiveness (Pseudoshrinks and Supershrinks) • Systemic change • Timeless Principles (Collective Consciousness) • Cultures of Care and Respect

11. “It’s not enough to be compassionate.You must act.”– Tenzin Gyatso 14th Dalai Lama, 1992

12. ThankYou

13. Maryville University 650 Maryville University Drive Saint Louis, Missouri 63141 USA +01.314.529.9659 (Phone) +01.314.529.9139 rbertolino@maryville.edu www.maryville.edu Youth In Need, Inc. 516 Jefferson Saint Charles, Missouri 63301 USA +01.636.946.0101 (Phone) +01.636.925.0125 (Fax) rbertolino@youthinneed.org www.youthinneed.org Bob Bertolino, Ph.D.TCCT, LLC – P.O. Box 1175 – St. Charles, Missouri 63302+01.314.852.7274 – bertolinob@cs.com – www.bobbertolino.com