Foundations of Solution-Focused Practice Online Intensive

This is our most complete and comprehensive self-paced online program.  This course investigates the foundational knowledge, training, and practice in the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy approach. Included in the course’s price is an electronic textbook: Learning Solution-Focused Therapy: An Illustrated Guide, written by Anne Bodmer Lutz, MD. The text itself has links to 30 clinical demonstration video vignettes. The course includes a ten-part video lecture series, numerous video demonstrations, case studies, clinical practice exercises, section exams, and many additional resources.  This course reviews the history of the evolution of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, the philosophical underpinnings and major tenets of the approach, the core therapeutic elements of this approach, and the applications of the approach to different settings, populations, and presenting problems, and reviews current empirical evidence supporting it.

Last Updated: February 2025

Target Audience: Social workers, psychologists, mental health counselors, educators, and medical professionals: appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

1. Differentiate key components of solution-focused and problem-focused conversations by analyzing their approaches, assumptions, and outcomes in case-based exercises.
2. Recall and identify core solution-focused assumptions by selecting correct statements in multiple-choice and case-based assessments.
3. Recognize and recall core solution-focused questions used in clinical practice by applying them in case-based exercises and video observations.
4. Select appropriate solution-focused language strategies by analyzing case scenarios and choosing responses that incorporate active verbs, positive vocabulary, and appreciative narratives in multiple-choice assessments.
5. Determine the correct use of direct compliments, indirect compliments, coping questions, and amplification of positive differences in solution-focused questioning by assessing their application in video case studies and scenario-based questions.
6. Analyze how solution-focused questioning enhances engagement in conversations with individuals, families, and teams by identifying key techniques in reading materials and video-based assessments.
7. Apply solution-focused amygdala whispering and yes-set techniques to counterbalance intense emotions by selecting the correct application in self-paced scenario-based exercises.
8. Identify solution-focused VIP mapping categories and their role in cultivating meaningful connections and relationships by analyzing case examples in multiple-choice assessments.
9. Recognize solution-focused goal negotiation techniques, including the best hope question, imagining a satisfying week, and the miracle question, by identifying their correct use in video observations and reading-based assessments.
10. Compare solution-focused scaling questions that activate agency with problem-focused ones that assess acuity by evaluating their differences in case-based multiple-choice questions.
11. Determine the appropriate use of solution-focused scaling questions to enhance agency and plan development by selecting correct applications in video-based and case-based exercises.
12. Identify how the solution-focused safety assessment differs from problem-focused risk assessment by analyzing key distinctions in structured reading materials and case examples.
13. Choose appropriate solution-focused follow-up questions that activate agency and promote planning in ongoing conversations by assessing their use in multiple-choice case scenarios.
14. Differentiate between solution-focused and problem-focused assessment questions related to mood, relationships, emotional regulation, anxiety, trauma, attentional challenges, substance use, and family history by selecting correct responses in reading-based and case-based assessments.
15. Identify the key components of a solution-focused safety assessment plan and how it differs from traditional risk assessment plans through structured learning modules and case-based multiple-choice exercises.
16. Recognize solution-focused questions that can be applied in consultations and team meetings by selecting correct examples in video and case-based exercises.
17. Determine how solution-focused therapy can be applied in the treatment of substance use disorders by analyzing video case studies and selecting appropriate interventions in multiple-choice assessments.
18. Evaluate recent solution-focused research and its applications in practice by identifying key findings from published studies and selecting correct interpretations in multiple-choice exercises.
19. Identify solution-focused interventions applicable to anxiety, ADHD, substance use, and medication treatment by selecting the most appropriate strategies in case-based scenarios.

Course Outline

1. Welcome orientation and course resources
   1. Full text of Learning Solution-Focused Therapy: An Illustrated Guide
   2. Visual Solution-focused framework
   3. Summary of clinical and practice exercises
   4. Core solution-focused questions
2. Orientation and Core Solution-focused tenets
3. Amygdala whispering and the Yes-Set
4. Solution-focused goal negotiation and Solution-focused scaling
5. Follow-up questions and the Miracle Question
6. Solution-focused assessment
7. Solution-focused safety assessment
8. Solution-focused Research
9. Applications in Substance Use
10. Applications with children and families

There will be 10 section exams, consisting of 15-item multiple-choice which is designed to assess your understanding and ability to apply the course material. You may take the exam multiple times until you pass the exam.

19.5 CE Credit/Clock Hours are available for this course.

Please see our Continuing Education Information page for information about CE credits and clock hours, and our accreditations and approvals for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and marriage & family therapists.

Students should check with their professional licensing boards to make sure that a specific course will be accepted toward their continuing education requirements.

To receive continuing education hours, the student must:

• Enroll in the course
• Read the learning content
• Watch the entire online lecture
• Complete the course exam, and receive a passing grade of 80%
• Complete the course evaluation

Upon successful completion of the course, the student may download and print his or her Certificate of Completion.

Once enrolled, you may begin your course at any time.

Our complete list of policies can be viewed here.