Solution-Focused Therapy through the Lens of Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This paper introduces discourse analysis in psychotherapy research as it is performed namely within the context of solution-focused brief therapy. It has the character of an overview study with a closer emphasis on several examples from the solution-focused context in relation to Discourse Analysis in individual, couple, or family therapy. In this text, the authors introduce examples of contemporary research that deal with the role of formulations in psychotherapy and counseling; the therapist pursuing a therapeutic agenda; and the process of change, as well as the broader psychotherapeutic discourse.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interests.

Notes

1 From the Greek deixis = pointing, referring (Korman et al., 2013). These are paraphrases in which what the client said is preserved in the form of a reference ("it", "that", "these", "what", etc.).

2 This comparison level of analysis leads us to position the first study on formulation into the micro-critique quadrant (Q IV in Figure 1) as the “lens” of analysis is more focused on the established approaches and their critique from a microlevel perspective (see the summary in Table 4).

3 “Positioning” offers a certain intermediate stage between the "micro" and "macro" discursive perspectives, as it pays attention to both conversations and broader cultural meanings (Avdi, 2016; Guilfoyle, 2016; Madill & Barkham, 1997).

4 As far as we know, there are no studies of this kind available for solution-focused brief therapy. Therefore, here we decided to present a study of it’s “close relative“in psychotherapy field – narrative therapy (Chang & Nylund, 2013). Although we would expect many differences in micro-level of discourse analysis between solution-focused therapy and narrative therapy, on macro-level discourse analysis we expect more similarities.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the research grants VEGA-2/0088/19. ‘Reflexive Writing as a Method of Ethnographic Inquiry’ and IGA CMT F_2021_006 ‘Diskurzivní analýzy v poradenství a terapii’.