Topic > Solution Focused Therapy Essay - 1310

The founders of Solution Focused Therapy, Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, learned about families and relationships in the treatment center they built, known as Milwaukee Brief Family Therapy Center. They believe that parents should be actively involved in their child's treatment process. This is due to the fundamental role of the parent in the development of their child. Until proven otherwise, parents usually want to feel proud of their child, have a positive impact on them, and see that their child has a better future than their own (Berg & Steiner, 2003). In solution-focused therapy it is helpful to have a clear understanding of what assumptions about children might be. Solution-focused therapists believe that children want their parents to be proud of them, to learn new things from their parents, and to be able to express their opinions and choices. These assumptions about parents and children are what help shape the therapy session (Berg & Steiner, 2003). The family is considered a unit or system that constantly interacts with each other. According to Berg (1994) every relationship inside and outside the family affects the system as a whole. When working with families, the family is the system in which all parts are important and therapists become part of the system the moment they are introduced (White & Klein, 2008). Finally, it is important for the therapist to realize that when working with children and their families the task is to honor the intrinsic bond, restore it and help build the bridge between parent and child whenever possible (Berg & Steiner,