“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” Helen Keller.
In my opinion, sunflowers are one of the ultimate symbols of positivity – striking yellow petals with bold, upright stems. Their young flowers track the sun throughout the day for energy, yet even when the sun disappears behind a cloud, they remain upright and turn towards each other, seemingly for support, until the sun reappears.
Sunflowers seem to radiate cheerful, positive energy and my mood is instantly lifted when I am lucky enough to see some. Sunflowers remind me to focus on the positives in life, which in turn has the effect of diminishing any negative aspects of day-to-day living which I might have encountered. Ultimately what we choose to set our minds on, determines our focus.
Likewise, therapy styles may also differ in their outlook and focus. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help clients change by constructing positive solutions to issues instead of focusing on problems. SFBT relies on the premise that we have the resources and strengths within us to make changes in our lives. We have all used these resources in the past to overcome obstacles and emerge from them. However, negative thinking can make us overlook these unique resources and strengths. Using SFBT, I can help you rediscover these resources, which in turn you can use to conquer present issues.
Additionally, by focusing on the positive resources you do have at hand, new neural pathways in the brain are created, which allows your brain to deal with stress and upcoming obstacles more effectively in the future.
All in all, there are many positives about Solution-Focused Brief Therapy!