Out of the Box Coaching and
Breakthroughs with the Enneagram, Mary R. Bast, Ph.D. 
Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved. Revised: July 21, 2010 

Developing a Solution Focus
(Drawn from John L. Walter and Jane E. Peller's Becoming Solution Focused in Brief Therapy)

(Also included in my Self-Coaching Workbook)

Assumptions

• Focus on the positive, the solution, and the future.

• Change is occurring all the time, and small changes can lead to larger changes.

• Appreciate that you have all the internal resources you need to solve the problem.

Steps

1. Make each of your goals a moving picture:

• When the problem is solved, what will you be doing?

• What would others say you will be doing?

• How specifically will you be doing this?

• If I were videotaping you, what would I capture on film?

2. Determine how the solution is already happening and do more of it:

• If you find exceptions to the problem -- times when it was not a problem -- and you know how you made this happen, do more of what has already been working for you. 

• If you find exceptions to the problem -- times when it was not a problem -- but you don't know how you made this happen, 

  • observe yourself, find out how you've been solving the problem, and do more of it. 

  • observe someone else who acts in ways that reflect your solution, notice in what way you can do the same, and do more of it.

3. If it's not yet happening, do a small piece of it, then repeat Step 2.

More on Moving From Problems to Solutions