AASP Blog

Even the most optimistic athletes face challenges in their quest for excellence. Coaches occupy a central role in helping these individuals overcome these obstacles and achieve optimal performance. Psychology practitioners have developed numerous approaches that may be particularly helpful for coaches in this regard. Specifically, solution-focused brief counseling (SFBC) is an approach that may be useful in coaching settings (Hicks & McCracken, 2010). This blog will provide a brief description of SFBC and steps for application in sport coaching.

Solution-Focused Brief Counseling

SFBC was developed by de Shazer and colleagues (1986) to challenge the prevailing psychotherapy practices of the era. Typical approaches at the time placed significant emphasis on client problems and the reasoning behind them. Time was spent analyzing the client’s past and identifying experiences that contributed to the problem. Conversely, the central tenet of SFBC is utilizing the innate strengths that clients already possess to help them achieve their goals. In essence, practitioners using this approach seek not to understand why clients are struggling, but instead search to uncover ways to improve the situation (Arthur-Cameselle & Giges, 2020).

Using SFBC in Coaching

However, it should be noted that SFBC professionals do not totally disregard clients’ past experiences. The past is still examined to identify clues that inform the future, but it isn’t the primary focus in session (Grant, 2012). Instead, SFBC is future-oriented and can be compared to driving a car: it is sensible to occasionally check the rear-view mirror, but it is better to look ahead (Connell et al., 2013). In other words, it is more important to focus on the future to generate solutions than to develop a detailed understanding of the problem (Hicks & McCracken, 2010). Essentially, SFBC practitioners believe clients are quite capable of identifying problems, setting goals, and generating solutions (Gutkind, 2004).

Interestingly, the practice of SFBC has become more widespread in non-therapeutic fields such as organizational business, education, and sports coaching (Grant, 2012). In particular, coaches are recognizing the value of this approach for working with athletes. These performers are inherently familiar with goal setting and tend to be highly motivated to achieve their desired outcomes. Because the positive effects of SFBC can be seen almost immediately, it is becoming a useful model in sports settings (Hoigaard & Johansen, 2004). Coaches who use the SFBC approach value a collaborative relationship with athletes and believe that any change can lead to more change, even if athletes’ goals are not directly related to the problem. Indeed, Berg and Miller (1992) concluded that solution-focused techniques are based on the following assumptions:

1. Focus on what works.
2. There is no objective truth.
3. Large problems do not need extensive solutions.
4. There are always exceptions to the problem.
5. The athlete is the expert and can identify their own solutions.
6. Cooperation means working with the athlete.

Implementing SFBC

Not surprisingly, athletes tend to associate their self-image with success in sport and often experience significant psychological pressure. Unfortunately, athletes appear to be less likely than the general population to seek out counseling services when faced with psychological challenges (Gulliver et al., 2012). Because of this apparent truth, sport coaches are in an ideal position to utilize the basic tenets of SFBC. For example, consider the case of injured athletes. The magnitude of injury is often determined by the athlete’s perception of the injury rather than the injury itself (Gutkind, 2004). Instead of spending an inordinate amount of time analyzing the injury, coaches can use the foundational principles of SFBC to direct athletes’ attention to solutions. In other words, rather than dwelling on the injury, why it happened, or how it could have been avoided, coaches can help athletes look ahead to the next milestone in their development and how they will achieve their desired goals.

Performance ‘slumps’ are another situation where coaches could use the principles of SFBC. For example, a cornerstone of SFBC is the ‘miracle question’, which is used to enable athletes to create a detailed image of the solution (Gutkind, 2004). More specifically, coaches could use the following prompt for athletes who are in a slump: “Imagine that a miracle happens tonight when you go to sleep and the ‘slump’ disappears. When you wake up tomorrow, what would be the first signs that a miracle had occurred?” Although coaches should not expect literal miracles to occur when using this technique, it clearly points athletes toward solutions and leads to talk about positive changes, both desirable outcomes in these types of situations.

Another useful SFBC technique for coaches to implement is ‘scaling’. This approach is used to encourage athletes to identify solutions and take small steps in the desired direction. Consider post-competition reflections as a possible way to use this technique. As many coaches will attest, athletes often label their performances as either universally “good” or “bad,” which likely doesn’t capture the nuances of what actually happened. With scaling, coaches ask athletes to rate their performance on a scale of 1 to 10, and then follow up by asking them what the athlete might do next time to improve one point on the scale. So, if an athlete says their performance was a ‘4,’ their coach can ask: “What could you do next time to make it a ‘5?’” Not only does this shift the focus toward their next increment of improvement, it also fosters confidence because that next step is much more manageable than if the athlete were to fixate on performing at level ‘10’ on the scale.

Ultimately, as a former collegiate sports coach, I can attest to the effectiveness of SFBC techniques. Athletes like to have a sense of autonomy and competence in relation to their sport, and solution-focused brief interventions support those needs. Coaches at any level could improve their practices by incorporating the relatively easy-to-master concepts of SFBC. This approach meshes well with traditional coaching goals and could even be used to inform coach education efforts.

References

• Arthur-Cameselle, J., & Giges, B. (2020). Brief consultations in sport and performance psychology. In Applied Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology (pp. 129-147). Routledge.
• Berg, I. K., & Miller, S. D. (1992). Working with the problem drinker: A solution-focused approach. WW Norton & Co.
• De Shazer, S., Berg, I. K., Lipchik, E. V. E., Nunnally, E., Molnar, A., Gingerich, W., & Weiner‐Davis, M. (1986). Brief therapy: Focused solution development. Family process, 25(2), 207-221. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1986.00207.x
• Grant, A. M. (2011). The Solution-Focused Inventory: A tripartite taxonomy for teaching, measuring and conceptualising solution-focused approaches to coaching. The Coaching Psychologist, 7(2), 98-106.
• Grant, A. M. (2012). Making positive change: a randomized study comparing solution-focused vs. problem-focused coaching questions. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 31(2), 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1521/jsyt.2012.31.2.21
• Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K. M., & Christensen, H. (2012). Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study. BMC psychiatry, 12(1), 157. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/12/157
• Gutkind, S. M. (2004). Using solution-focused brief counseling to provide injury support. Sport Psychologist, 18(1), 75-88. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.18.1.75
• Hicks, R. & McCracken, J. (2010). Solution-focused coaching. Physician executive, 36(1), 62-64.
• Hoigaard, R., & Johansen, B. T. (2004). The solution-focused approach in sport psychology. The Sport Psychologist, 18(2), 218-228. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.18.2.218
• O'Connell, B., Palmer, S., & Williams, H. (2013). Solution focused coaching in practice. Routledge.