What Is Solution-Focused Therapy and How Is It Different from Life Coaching?

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) straddles the worlds of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and coaching. Just like CBT, SFBT is an evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality, which means there is authoritative research confirming its efficacy. When deployed without a specialized license, disconnected from a specific mental-health diagnosis, and not paid for via insurance, SFBT, in effect, becomes coaching.

In the context of SFBT, being solution-focused means that the goal of therapy is not to analyze a client’s problem or its roots but to focus on its resolution. Unlike CBT, which seeks to explore and connect maladaptive thoughts and behaviors to the client’s problematic core beliefs, SFBT is not interested in causes and origins. It postulates that it is irrelevant what might have led to the undesirable situation, and all that matters is how to improve it. In fact, SFBT even questions the validity of the inquiry into the causes of psychological discomfort. Some of its more radical proponents claim that discovering the roots of present mental distress may be detrimental to its resolution and that reframing the past in order to make the current pain go away is a perfectly valid coping mechanism. In general, SFBT only turns to a client’s past in search of empowering and encouraging experiences known as positive exceptions—times when a client’s problem either didn’t exist or was manageable.

SFBT begins with a client’s complaint. The therapist helps to transform this complaint into an achievable goal. For example, if a client bemoans that he or she is not a billionaire, the actual underlying problem may be a lack of financial security, a perceived need to keep up with the Joneses, or a grueling and unrewarding job. While it is not realistic for most people to become billionaires, it is usually possible to improve one’s financial circumstances, drop out of a meaningless rat race, or find a better job. Once an achievable goal is set and a desirable future state is described, the therapist helps the client to identify resources at his or her disposal that can be used to pursue it. Said resources may be internal to the client, such as knowledge, education, and experience, or external, such as friends, family, professional connections, or savings. Taking comprehensive stock of one’s resources often leads to more creative solutions or even to a reassessment of the initial problem.

The core idea of SFBT is that it is the client who is the expert in his or her life, not the therapist. The assumption is that the client already has the knowledge and resources to improve the situation but hasn’t yet realized this. The therapist’s task is to bring about such a realization and empower the client to imagine a better future and act accordingly. Such an approach can often lead to meaningful progress in a client’s quality of life in a relatively short span of time—hence the “B” in the SFBT acronym. However, SFBT is less likely to help with existential concerns because such concerns, by definition, cannot have an actionable resolution and require a wholly different mindset. Also, there are cases where focusing on a solution while downplaying the problem is akin to treating pain with ibuprofen without first understanding its cause. It may well be the only thing one needs for a regular headache. But it can also be a fatal mistake if used to ignore the symptoms of brain cancer.  

Finally, a few words about coaching. It is very similar to SFBT, but it has no real gatekeeping mechanism. One must have certain credentials to practice SFBT because it contains the word “therapy.” By contrast, anyone can legally self-advertise as a coach. The benefit for the client is that the market for coaches is much broader than that for licensed therapists. The disadvantage is that no major insurance currently pays for coaching sessions, while SFBT is one of the insurers’ approved treatment modalities alongside CBT. And, of course, it may be even harder to find a good coach than it is to find a good therapist.

Unlike therapy, coaching doesn’t imply a mental-health diagnosis. It can also include elements of mentoring and guidance on the part of the coach. When compared to therapy clients, coaching clients often have more narrowly defined problems and clearly identified desired outcomes. However, these distinctions are not set in stone. Great work can be done in both therapy and coaching. The results mostly depend on the client’s motivation, the professionalism of the therapist or coach, and the fit between the two.