Effectiveness of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in a School Setting

This study evaluated the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy with children who have classroom-related behavior problems within a school setting. Five to seven sessions of solution-focused brief therapy services were provided to 67 children, identified by school faculty and staff as needing assistance in solving behavior problems. Teacher in-service training and three to four consultation meetings were also provided. Externalizing and Internalizing scores from both the Youth Self-Report and Teacher Report Forms of the Child Behavior Checklist were used as outcome measures. Outcomes were evaluated by using a pretest/posttest follow-up design with a comparison group. Effect sizes and improved percentage scores were calculated. Findings provide support that solution-focused brief therapy was effective in improving internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.