SIMPLY FOCUS Podcast: The Good Life Approach - Your podcast with the little extra Solution Focus for your daily life!

Jennifer Gerwing and Sara Healing about what sciences really knows about communication. In today’s episode, we debunk some myths of communication. We talk with Jennifer Gerwing, Ph.D., and Sara Healing of the International Microanalysis Associates, about what fascinates them with (microanalysis of) face to face dialogue. They share examples of communication myths (in Health Care) and what we really know when we analyze interaction. They debunk the myth of body language and explain the remarkable contributions of facial gestures, hand gestures and gaze in conjunction with our speech. Together we explore how to show the importance of looking very closely at specific, observable behavior in interaction, how to see what’s actually happening, and the difference of looking at individual behavior versus the looking at interaction. And they bust myths about listening and show the importance of really paying attention to the client and the interaction. Check out what the benefits of engaging in the interactional view and microanalysis of face-to-face dialogue are, and how Solution Focus fits to all this scientific research. And check out the Challenge of the week: Pay attention to conversations around you and observe how hand gestures, facial expressions, and gaze add to the speech.

The post SFP 60 – In Interaction: Debunking Myths of Communication with Jennifer Gerwing and Sara Healing appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Dr. David Weber about communication choices. In today’s episode, we talk with Assoc. Prof. David Weber at UNC Wilmington about how he uses Solution Focused ideas in University teaching. Check out how he got into Solution Focus and what fascinates him with SF, how he supports his students to see Solution Focused communication choices, how he coaches his students to major in communication and develop their personal and team skills, and the concept of Tikun Olam. Listen to a story of a student using the miracle question in a team meeting and ways of teaching this question. David tells us what helped him to find his own SF style and the differences living in different countries made for him. We explore co-creation in the classroom and how he sees his students as solution searchers. And we talk about how he started using SF in the classroom, how these experiences encouraged him, the differences SF makes in his everyday life, and how the SF community provides this studio for being a real human being. And do David’s challenge of the week: "When you are in a situation ask yourself „What can I learn from this experience?“.

The post SFP 59 – Supporting communication choices: How to use Solution Focused ideas in university teaching with Dr. David Weber appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Sébastien Vernieuwe about Luc Isebaert’s legacy. In today’s episode, we talk with Sébastien Vernieuwe of the Korzybski Institute in Bruges (Belgium), about Dr. Luc Isebaert’s “Three Questions for a Good Life”. Check out what fascinates Sébastien with Solution Focus, how he trained Solution Focus, and how this changed his practice. Get to know the ideas and the development of the “Three Questions for a Good Life” and the Bruges Model that integrates the greek classics with the Ethos, the Pathos, the Logos, and the Oikos. Listen how they chose „happiness“ and „gratefulness“ as topics for the 3 questions and learn more about the social media campaign „3 Questions on 3 May“ and Sébastien’s best hopes from the challenge. And we go out and ask participants of the conference of the Swiss Network for Solution Focused Work (NLA) about the differences these questions make for them. Check out what Katalin Hankovszky, Regula Flury-Wahlen, Dr. med. Ursula Bühlmann, Dr. Sandro Vicini, Sandra Dietrich, and Andy Balmer say and do the Challenge of the week: Try out the “Three Questions for a Good Life” and share your experiences with us in the comments section of this podcast episode (www.sfontour.com/simplyfocuspodcast).

The post SFP 58 – Celebrating the SFWorldDay: The Three Questions for a Good Life with Sébastien Vernieuwe and members of the Swiss Network for Solution Focused Work (NLA) appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Dr. Adam Froerer about a shift in perspective. In today’s episode, we talk with Assoc. Prof. Adam Froerer about seeing people at their best. Find out what fascinates him with Solution Focus, how questions change with a different perception, how to be minutely curious about clients being at their best, or how to come to more meaningful places with Solution Focus. Learn how to focus on change in the past, present and/or the future. Adam also tells us about their „late nights“ family ritual or how Adam and his wife have important conversations with their children. And he talks about how he uses Solution Focus with his students at Mercer University and how staying persistent in seeing people as capable of figuring out their own answers pays off. We explore his research project about different presuppositions in Solution Focus and the importance of understanding how language is used, listening, and the meanings of the client. And check out his challenge of the week: Find a person that you don’t know and practice finding out about their brilliance. ”What do you do best? How did you get good at that? …”

The post SFP 57 – Our Perception matters: How to be minutely curious about clients being at their best with Dr. Adam Froerer appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

John Murphy about asking clients. In today’s episode, we talk with Prof. John Murphy about client-centered practice. Find out what has fascinated him with Solution Focus, how he came in contact with SF, and what kept him on this road. Learn from John what respect, respectful curiosity, putting the client in the center, and letting their answers drive the conversation, can mean. He stresses the uniqueness of conversations and how questions can open up for possibilities and different stories. He shares his thoughts about client-directed practice and the willingness to let ourselves be shaped into effectiveness by our clients, the common factors research and how Solution Focus Brief Therapy empowers the important variables, as well as the value of not assuming and instead asking clients about their experiences. Find out more about giving credit, the influence of personal agency questions, and about planting seeds with our questions and invitations. We also talk with John about his book „Solution Focused Counseling in Schools“, who should definitely read it, as well as taking the time and remaining open to learn more about the complexity of people. And what a rewarding challenge of the week: „Think of something you want to accomplish and make a list of people who want you to succeed with that. Select one person and ask yourself how you might go about recruiting this person to give you a hand.”

The post SFP 56 – Don’t assume, ask: A unique conversation about common factors, respect, and keeping clients at the center with Prof. John Murphy appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Prof. Frank Thomas about learning from client feedback. In today’s episode, we talk with Frank Thomas, Professor at the TCU Counseling Program and former Archivist of the SFBTA about Practice-Based Evidence. He shares what fascinated him and drew him towards Solution Focus from 1985 on and what makes him passionate about Solution Focus today. Hear more about his article about the evolution of compliments and the importance of retaining complimenting in Solution Focus. Learn more about Practice-Based Evidence, how we can engage our clients in the process and learn from and with them, and the difference between Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence. Frank tells us a touching story with the taxi metaphor and the different ride with letting clients participate in the process. We explore how and what to ask clients to elicit client feedback on how it is going and how to involve them in the experience. And he shares how he teaches Practice-Based Evidence with his students at the TCU and how he invites seasoned practitioners to embrace this form of learning as well as the value of formalizing client feedback with FIT and/or PCOMS. As founding archivist of the SFBTA archive he saw the foreshadowing of future discoveries in the video tapes of the BFTC. And he stresses the rumor of Solution Focus, spreading the good news, and valuing differences in doing SF. Challenge yourself with the challenge of the week: „Choose one or two clients or conversational partners and simply have a conversation about your conversation. And see what similarities and differences come out of the understanding of what took place."

The post SFP 55 – Practice-Based Evidence: Looking at what is effective in what we do with Prof. Frank Thomas appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Marcella Stark about SF supervision. In today’s episode, we talk with Marcella Stark, Assoc. Professor at the TCU Counseling Program and Board Member of the SFBTA, about her fascinations for Solution Focus, the differences it has made for her, and how Solution Focus is not only for positive people. Hear how she supports students that Solution Focus gets more natural and in becoming more curious about their own progress. Check out how creative Solution Focused ways, like working with miniatures when supervising students, or scaling and goal setting with horror figures and superheroes. Learn what fits best when or when the miracle question and when fast forwarding questions fit best. Get to know what drew Marcella to Solution Focused supervision, what differences applying SF makes for her and her students, her research projects and insights about applying Solution Focus in different settings, like counseling, leadership, and supervision, and the Solution Focused community and her engagement in the SFBTA. And do the Challenge of the week: „Look at how far you’ve come in your journey and answer yourself „how?“. How did I do that? How did I get here? How did I know to do that?“

The post SFP 54 – Wellness factor Solution Focus: A conversation about SF supervision with Marcella Stark appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Becky Taylor about miniatures and sand trays. In today’s episode, we talk with Assoc. Prof. Becky Taylor at the TCU Counseling Program about Solution Focused work with children and adolescents. Becky shares with us what fascinates her with Solution Focus, how she started to focus on resources instead of deficits, her fascination for resilience, and how she got in touch with Solution Focus. Hear her tips and tricks on how to use miniatures and sand trays in a Solution Focused way with children and adolescents and what differences she has noticed. Learn more about her book "Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents: Creative and Play Based Approaches“ which is coming out in April 2019. Check out embodied learning or how she uses the miracle question, rehearsing the preferred future, and scaling with miniatures with children and adolescents, how she involves the parents, teachers, or friends of the child, and how she gets them playing. And accept her challenge to look for what’s right about people, the good things people do, and to help people realize that. Check out The Challenge of the week: When you see children and their parents, do something that lets the parents know that you appreciate something that they do with their children or let the children know that you appreciate them.

The post SFP 53 – Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents: Creative and Play-Based Approaches with Becky Taylor appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

Elfie and Dominik about connecting and sharing. In today’s episode we celebrate the anniversary of the SIMPLY FOCUS podcast with our guest host Prof. John Murphy who interviews us, Elfie & Dominik, about our journey. Find out what Solution Focused ideas have helped us to do our journey and have sustained traveling for almost 2 years or what kept us going, especially when it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. Learn more about the potential of the assumption that change is happening all the time, the power of our preferred future or the turn our journey took after connecting to the Solution Focused community in North America, and the meaning of receiving the Steve de Shazer Memorial award 2018 at the SFBTA conference. We talk about our aim to share the great Solution Focused work that people do and to build up an audio library for the SF community and beyond, about giving and receiving or how we bring Solution Focus to people who may not come in touch with it otherwise and the differences these conversations made for us, and about bringing joy and ease to the world and making differences in people’s lives. We share our view on appreciating differences and the advantages of different versions of Solution Focus, on supporting each other, and going the journey together as a Team Solution Focus. Check out the basic assumptions that most Solution Focused practitioners, who we met, share, the connections and the hope Solution Focus can instill in other people and ourselves, and how we engage people in meaningful conversations – in one to one meetings and when working with groups, e.g. with University students at several Universities we were invited to in the US. And check out John’s challenge of the week: „Go out and tell 5 people in your life about SF on Tour and tune in to the ideas of Dominik and Elfie.”

The post SFP 52 – Happy Birthday Simply Focus Podcast: A meaningful conversation about our journey with John Murphy appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.

SF Counseling at TCU. In today’s episode, we talk with Assoc. Prof. Becky Taylor, Prof. Frank Thomas, and Assoc. Prof. Marcella Stark and three of their Ph.D. students about their Solution Focused Counseling Program at Texas Christian University (TCU). Hear what has fascinated them with Solution Focus (SF), what makes their counseling program at TCU special and the differences Solution Focus makes in it. They share how they teach Solution Focus, what they have learned from each other, how they put the differences of their students to work, and what (they think that) their students say about the program and their teachers. We also asked them about the differences SF makes for them as a team and in their work and they told us about the importance of building relationship in teaching and staying open to being a lifelong learner. Check out the Challenge of the week: What superpower do you bring to your professional future that’s going to help you to reach your goals? And we also talked to their Ph.D. students Lindsey Tardif, Ashli East and Franchesca Fraire about their Solution Focused superpowers and how they use them in their SF work, how the Solution Focused Counseling Program at TCU supports them, and about the superpowers of their teachers that are useful for them.

The post SFP 51 – Putting differences to work: The Solution Focused Counseling Program at TCU with Becky Taylor, Frank Thomas, Marcella Stark and three of their PH.D. students appeared first on SF on tour with Elfie J. Czerny & Dominik Godat.