© 2002 Oxford University Press
Developmental Adaptations of Solution-Focused Family Therapy
From the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Contact author: Jacqueline Corcoran, PhD, School of Social Work, Northern Virginia Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, 6295 Edsall Rd., Ste. 240, Alexandria, VA 22312. E-mail: jcorcora{at}mail1.vcu.edu.
Solution-focused interventions emphasize exceptions to problems and the future without a problem. However, certain cognitive abilities are required to enable clients to delve into the past and detail nonproblem times, and then think about how to apply these blueprints to the future. Since children and some teenagers still think in concrete ways, solution-focused techniques need to be adapted to meet the developmental requirements of youth. In this article, the adaptation of techniques will be illustrated in the context of solution-focused family therapy for the treatment of behavior problems in children. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2:301313 (2002)]
KEY WORDS: solution-focused therapy, developmental stage, child behavior problems