What if the most powerful thing you could do as a coach was to stop trying to build motivation and start assuming it was already there? The SF approach doesn’t evoke capability — it presupposes it.
When a client returns having done little or nothing, the pull is to move straight to action. But action before description doesn’t take root.
A good practitioner doesn’t just listen for empathy — they listen strategically. Here’s what the Solution-Focused Ear listens for, what it ignores, and why that distinction drives faster follow-through.
Some coaching conversations feel heavy. Others feel creative and full of momentum. According to the research, it’s not chemistry — it’s neuroscience. Here’s what your questions are doing to your client’s brain.
Most practitioners believe they’re doing MI. But the fidelity benchmarks are more demanding than the workshops let on. Here’s why the 2:1 ratio is a heavy lift — and what the Solution-Focused approach offers instead.
Most health professionals have been trained in Motivational Interviewing. The key to higher follow-through isn’t just doing more MI — it’s knowing when to shift to a Solution-Focused stance. Here’s the clinical decision framework.
When a patient presents a barrier, the instinct is to analyze it. But staying inside the problem story is often what causes the Conversation Gap. Here’s why focusing on exceptions — not obstacles — is the evidence-based path to follow-through.
When a client is stuck in a problem narrative, the trained instinct is to fix it. Dr. Deborah Teplow on the three small moves that work instead: acknowledge, ask coping questions, and look forward.
Close the “follow-through gap” in health coaching by learning how to anchor every session to a visible sign of progress and an immediate next step.
Discover why traditional goal-setting often fails and how helping clients build a “preferred future” activates the neural pathways needed for lasting behavior change.