Solution Focused Brief Therapy - Three Day Seminar

The Solution-Focused Brief Therapy approach immediately appeals to many practitioners because it is considered conceptually very simple; however it is easy to underestimate the discipline that the approach requires in order to be used effectively. Practitioners rapidly discover that SIMPLE does not necessarily mean EASY! It is often joked that "there are only three questions" in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, but those three questions demand a focus and a way of listening that is very different from the way most of us were trained. This three-day intensive will do more than just introduce participants to Solution-Focused ideas; it will IMMERSE them in it! This is a "hands-on" course, grounded in the reality of peoples' work with clients. The course will discuss the major components or tools of the Solution-Focused approach in detail. Case examples and video examples will be used to demonstrate the various ideas and techniques in detail. These will not be "video highlights"; we will examine the process of counselling sessions, including bits that didn't work so well. Exercises, group discussions and role-plays will allow participants to experience the ideas and to experiment in a friendly environment.

The course is open to anyone but will be particularly suited to:

• People who have had some exposure to Solution-Focused ideas and would benefit from more systematic training
• People who have attended an introductory seminar in the past and who wish to pursue more focused training
• People who are interested and willing to explore a therapeutic approach that offers real hope to clients but some uncertainty to practitioners.

Participants will leave armed with the knowledge and skills to immediately incorporate Solution Focused Brief Therapy into their practice.

Supervision - Two Day Seminar

This two day training will explore how a strengths-based philosophy can be extended into and utilised by those in supervisory roles to provide focused supervision that not only leads to better and safer practice, but also improves job satisfaction and agency culture as a result. Participants will learn practical methods for working with staff in ways that enhance their sense of competence and effectiveness.

Some of the areas Michael will cover include:

• How to have supervisory conversations that encourage supervises to reflect on their work with clients in a way that uncovers new ideas and builds hope.

• Moving the focus of supervision towards discussing successes with clients and how this approach can assist supervises to discover new ways forward with their more challenging clients.
• The role of supervisor as consultant rather than teacher and examples of how this works in practice.
• The importance of considering our own assumptions about the supervision process and how these will shape our supervisory practice (both positively and negatively).
• An overview of current supervision and management literature and how this knowledge translates into practice in the human services sector.
• How strengths-based supervision is about much more than just “being positive” and still considers the realities of child protection risk and other legal and ethical imperatives.

Michael consults with agencies and teams in Australia and overseas and has presented more than 800 professional training workshops throughout the world. His vast knowledge of this subject combined with his engaging presentation style ensure that this is a program not to be missed for anybody wanting to gain a more in-depth understanding of this incredibly effective approach.