Solution-focused approaches and their relevance to practice development

Abstract

Drawing on experience as facilitators of practice development the authors in this article propose the use of solution-focused approaches to practical puzzles. Solution-focused work in practice development draws on solutions-focused therapy but is distinct from it in a number of important ways. In the article there is an emphasis on the energy that emanates from the recognition of internal (personal or team) strengths and the ways that facilitators may guide practice developers to build confidence in their own ability to find solutions in the seemingly messy world of everyday clinical practice. This article begins with two descriptions of solution-focused work in practice development situations and goes on to discuss the origins of solutions-focused work in therapy and the adaptations required for use in practice development and concludes with a recommendation for its adoption among the repertoire of practice development facilitator tools.