SFT: Effective and Cost-Effective
People seeking therapy may feel overwhelmed by the vast range of approaches— "I want to see a therapist, but should I choose psychoanalysis, CBT, integrative therapy, person-centred, humanistic... ?" Every method has its strengths and advocates; however, some are open-ended and highly expensive.
The difference with Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is simple: research shows that for most clients, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) delivers faster, measurable progress compared to long-term therapy.
By focusing on solutions rather than problems, our online SFT therapists help clients move forward efficiently. If you're looking for affordable therapy online that is practical, goal-oriented, and results-driven, our SFT therapy provides a clear path to positive change — without unnecessary delays or expenses.
CBT:
Whilst we chiefly advocate Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), we recognize that Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has a long-standing tradition in the UK — dominating NHS short-term therapy. If you’re searching for an affordable online therapist trained in CBT therapy to the BACP accreditation standard, BetterTalk can help. We do not provide CBT and SFT therapy simultaneously.
CBT therapy UK explores the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Since thoughts influence emotions and actions, changing how we think can significantly impact how we feel and behave.
CBT shares similarities with ancient philosophies like Stoicism: "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength,” wrote Marcus Aurelius. This evidence-based therapy has stood the test of time.
CBT is a thought-based therapeutic approach, differing from SFT:
SFT: A Faster, Solution-Focused Approach
Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) works differently from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to achieve comparable results, faster. While SFT doesn't deny that problems exist, it emphasises the client’s own capacities to envision the life they would rather be living — it is a positive, future-focused approach. We help you clarify a set of immediate goals, and we work alongside you to envision a problem-free version of yourself. Instead of asking you to ponder how to banish negative thoughts, or how you think you might achieve your goals, we work with you to help you reach those goals effectively.
As SFT has become an influential therapeutic practice globally, many therapists from other psychological approaches now offer it — often without undergoing the rigorous training that SFT requires. At BetterTalk, we created a practice where every therapist is trained to a uniform high standard. Each has completed the 18-month BRIEF Advanced Certification, giving our clients a unique guarantee of solution-focused excellence.
How Long Does Solution-Focused Therapy Take?
Solution-Focused Therapy is typically of shorter duration than other approaches. Four to six sessions in a therapeutic sequence is fairly typical, though longer and shorter consultations occur. Your therapist will advise you, but the choice is always yours. Regular weekly meetings are preferable initially, but some clients later choose monthly or bi-monthly supportive sessions.
At BetterTalk, we disagree with locking clients into long therapy contracts which can be financially burdensome. Instead, we offer affordable online therapy scheduled at your convenience. When you move from shorter to longer packages, the price-per-session drops. With BetterTalk, you get affordable, flexible therapy without compromising on quality.
Personal Development & Coaching:
Longer-term engagements are more common in solution-focused personal development, coaching, and career counselling, than therapy. BetterTalk’s affordable packages make ongoing counselling support truly cost-effective.
IN SUMMARY -- WHY CHOOSE SFT?
Studies show that Solution-Focused Therapy is:
If you're searching for low-cost therapy in the UK, or simply a more flexible approach to mental health support, BetterTalk ensures high-quality, accessible counselling tailored to your needs.
Psychology Today points out that Solution-Focused Therapy is "one of the world's most widely used therapeutic treatments (De Shazer, 2007, Hsu, 2011) ...the efficacy, practicality, and optimistic nature of the treatment translate well across cultures, and... allows patients to maintain familial relations and personal dignity while addressing mental health issues." (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy | Psychology Today).
Today, solution focus is an important tool in organisations and educational settings (see BetterTalk Teams), while Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a positive and future-focused psychological approach. As practiced by BetterTalk it is supportive and highly empathetic. Many traditional therapies spend a long time analyzing problems and relating them to past life events, traumas etc; clients may be told they'll need years of agonising and expensive therapy before seeing even small signs of progress, and therapists can seem remote and obsessed by the client's past and diagnosis. SFBT, by contrast, focuses straightaway on your world now, on developing a sense of what a possible future could look like -- and on what abilities you possess that can straightaway help to shape that future. Most therapeutic approaches focus on problems, but SFBT only uses the problem as a means to help us envision a problem-free future.
We believe that you, the client, know how you want your life to be, and have a pretty good idea of certain changes that could improve your situation. True, everyone has established patterns of behaviour, habits, beliefs, assumptions etc., as well as external factors we can't control -- and these may make positive change seem remote and unattainable. But the evolution of SFT has demonstrated that with support, a majority of clients can find ways to cut through the mental clutter that stops them progressing; they can quickly develop sharp and clear perspectives on how they want their lives to be. This process empowers the client, making what previously seemed impossible now appear far closer than they previously believed.
SFT was originally developed by Steve de Shazer in the 1970s, alongside his wife Insoo Kim Berg, and others, who were rejecting psychoanalysis and seeking a faster, effective, and future-facing therapeutic approach.
Today, SFT is extensively "evidence-based" -- i.e., it has been scientifically studied and tested, resulting in evidence demonstrating its efficacy and supporting the techniques SFT-trained therapists employ. Research has provided strong evidence that SFT is an effective treatment for a wide variety of behavioural and psychological issues, and quicker -- therefore cheaper -- than comparable therapies. A 2013 review of 43 studies reviewed "all available controlled outcome studies of solution-focused brief therapy " and found that over 96% of the research found positive results, while 32 of the studies (74%) reported significant positive benefits. Importantly, where solution focused therapy was found to be comparable to other well-established treatments, it "used fewer sessions... The studies... provide strong evidence that SFBT is an effective treatment for a wide variety of behavioral and psychological outcomes and, in addition, it may be briefer and therefore less costly than alternative approaches."
For those who are interested, detailed academic research studies into the efficacy of SFT include the following two:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01926187.2022.2069175.
*Specialist therapists: BetterTalk is the only UK therapeutic provider where every therapist has been trained to Advanced Level at the prestigious BRIEF Centre for Solution Focused Practice in London, and is a member of the United Kingdom Association for Solution-Focused Practice (UKASFP).
Contact us today to schedule your first appointment and begin your future-focused journey.
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