When you mirror a client’s frustration, you may be keeping their brain locked in the problem. Here’s the neural reason why deep empathy can stall change — and the question that unlocks momentum instead.
When a client returns saying nothing changed, there is one workable line in there. How to find it and build on what they are already doing.
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.