The “Doing What Works” Group

Doing What Works, an up to five-session solution-focused therapy group for adult psychiatric outpatients, blends solution-focused methods, group process, and psychoeducation about solution-focused principles. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed for 108 participants who attended the group. As hypothesized, self-rated “control of the problem” increased after participation. In addition, participants who attended more of the five sessions reported more change. Qualitative analysis of subjects' written comments suggested that amplification of small behaviors, social interaction, acceptance, and the “doing what works philosophy” were perceived by group members as “ingredients of change.”