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.
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.
When a client names a strategy, that is not the destination. It is the door. Here is how the Solution-Focused approach uses strategy talk as a starting point for building a real preferred future.
When a client knows what to do but isn’t doing it, the instinct is to fight for them. Here’s why that backfires, and the Solution-Focused move that puts ownership back where it belongs.