Begegnungen mit Steve de Shazer und Insoo Kim Berg

by Manfred Vogt, Ferdinand Wolf, Peter Sundman

When Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg founded the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee in 1978, they set out on a journey which led not only to the development of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) but also to a revolutionary influence across and beyond the whole psychotherapeutic field. Terms such as solution focus, resource orientation, scaling, miracle question and many more are taken for granted today, and the broader implications of their work on how we think about therapy are still emerging. Steve and Insoo worked all over the world, introducing people to their practices and inspiring many to get involved with SFBT and take their ideas into fields such as coaching, teaching, social work and organisational change. Their journeys created powerful and lasting connections, which are still producing new work and developments. This book lets you eavesdrop on many of the meetings and friendships which they developed over the years, and appreciate even more their work, ideas and contribution. The book contains memories and stories from former BFTC team members as well as numerous colleagues from Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2015

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I first picked up this book because I was frantically making selections for books on therapy techniques that interested me, and in my rush, I figured that "encounters" with Steve de Shazer & Insoo Kim Berg meant that it was a book the two of them wrote together about their encounters with patients. It was instead a series of reflections by their friends from their international academic community of solutions-focused practitioners. It gave me a sense of them as people and clinicians, and provided wonderful snapshots into the theory and practice of SFBT. It isn't a good first read if you've never explored SFBT before, but it's perfect if you'd like an intimate and human glimpse at the lives of SFBT's founders. And to be sure, there are many good lessons for practice to be distilled from the stories. A good read indeed.

[Heiki Eesmaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a series of eulogies and essentially hagiography of the founders of solution-focused brief therapy. They were quite the characters with broad interests and idiosyncratic charm. There are many nuggets of clever ideas spread throughout the book but overall it is kind of vacuous and repetitive. Occasionally a joke is told, but no context is provided, ending with a feeling of being left out. Probably people who already knew the persons involved would have laughed. So many of these vignettes are aimed at an exceedingly small audience.

I have been currently interested in deliberate practice. Based on what I am learning from that, the teaching modes used by the eccentric leaders of this method are mostly outdated. But no doubt it was energizing to be part of that era of charismatic-eccentric travelling workshop therapy gurus.

The rating will depend on what you feel and already know about solution focused approach. I'd recommend starting with More than Miracles. One should also be aware that the momentum has kind of fizzled out with it never gaining gold standard levels of empirical support and the charismatic stars having had their heydeys.

[Arjan De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offers some insights on core elements of SFBT. Nice to read.