Welcome to the Solution-Focused WEBINARS & PRESENTATIONS STORE

Professional Development Opportunities for you to Earn Continuing Education Units with On-Demand Video Learning

Below you'll discover collection of recorded presentations, workshops and webinars, curated by Linda Metcalf and delivered by a variety of international solution focused experts.

Video sessions range from 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Each purchase will be added to your own private online library, and will include a Certificate of Attendance with 1-3 CEUs, depending on the length of the video.

CATEGORY MENU

Solution Focused School Counseling for All School Levels | Empowering Minds, Enriching Futures |

Engaged Educators = Exceptional Classrooms | Practising Together to Create Success | Creating the Solution Focused School Climate | The Mindset Behind the Solution Focused Approach | Specific Solutions Focused Applications for Schools

SF Connection

2023/24

May 24

The SF Connection Super Bowl

Solution Focused School Counseling for All School Levels

Solution Focused School Counseling:

Elementary School

Linda Metcalf

Ideas for assisting students dealing with anxiety, anger, misbehavior, ADHD, sadness and more, will be provided. There will be many case studies, examples of words to say and actions to take to create a solution focused conversation with students, teachers and parents.

Solution Focused School Counseling:

Intermediate & Middle School

Linda Metcalf

Issues such as bullying, student conflict, anger, ADHD, misbehavior and disrespectful student/teacher conflict will be addressed, as well as how to talk to parents who are puzzled by their changing child!

Solution Focused School Counseling:

High School

Linda Metcalf

This training will provide the basic constructs of the solution focused approach and its application to working with high school students and ideas for assisting students dealing with anxiety, anger, misbehavior, school refusal, disrespect, college planning, teacher conflict and more.

Empowering Minds, Enriching Futures

Solution Focused Play Therapy

Becky Taylor

Embark on a captivating journey through the realm of Solution-Focused Play Therapy (SFPT). This enlightening presentation will guide you through its significance, its adaptive potential for special needs, essentials to assemble, and the specific techniques that resonate with children in a school setting. It's not just an overview; it's a masterclass in empowering children to realize their inner strength.

Solution Focused Trauma Support in Schools

Joe George

Unveil the power of the solution-focused approach in navigating the turbulent seas of traumatic events. Discover how this method can pave the way for effective learning and accelerated healing in students. This session is about more than just understanding trauma; it's about kindling the beacon of hope amidst the storm.

Solution-Focused Strategies for School Administrators

Marcella Stark

Join us as we delve into the heart of a public school district, revealing the

transformative power of solution-focused strategies. Learn from real-world experiences how these principals can enhance interactions with teachers, staff, students, and parents, and unlock the secrets of effective teacher supervision and conflict resolution.

"5 Minutes is Enough" - Super-Brief School Counseling

Matvey Berkhin

Tune in to an inspiring tale from a school counselor in Russia, making waves with just two hours per week. Learn how concise, 5-minute sessions have catalyzed significant changes, proving that even the briefest moments can ripple into vast transformations.

Lunchtime Chat!

Tamara Doskocil

Join us for a fun and playful narrative of Groggy Froggy's personal journey of loss, grief, and love. Be inspired by this tale of a little frog with big dreams, underscoring the lesson that those we love leap with us, even when they are gone.

The Countdown to Success: An Exercise to Help Staff Get into the Solution Focused Mindset

Alice Cedillo

Experience the magic of the solution-focused approach in action, as Alice Cedillo shares a powerful exercise that redefined her school environment. Learn how this simple practice cultivated a more joyful staff and inspired students to reach for their personal best.

Infusing Solution-Focused Questions into Every Conversation!

Cher Kretz

Discover the art of embedding solution-focused questions into every dialogue, no matter the concern or circumstance. This session will empower you with the tools to transform each conversation into a stepping stone towards solutions, fostering an environment that nurtures positivity and progress.

Metaphor and Illustration – Tools in the Toolbox of the Solution Focused Practitioner

Rob Silver

Explore the power of metaphor and illustration as potent tools for the Solution Focused Practitioner. This session will examine how these methods can be applied to various scenarios, empowering students to reshape their perspectives on grief, loss, anger, loneliness, and more.

A Classroom Lesson about Ready To Learn: Building Independence In and Outside of the Classroom

Wendy Butch

Discover the secrets to nurturing self-reliance and wise decision-making in children. Uncover the power of building your students' confidence by showing them the keys to their growth reside within themselves.

Solution Focused Small Groups

Matt Cameron

Unearth the potential of small groups in school settings, seamlessly integrating Solution Focused skills. Learn how this approach not only expands the impact on students but also reduces your workload. Prepare to be inspired and redefine your approach to student engagement!

The Undercover Anti-Bullying Team: Stop Bullying without Shaming and Blaming

Michele Myers & Stephanie Fletcher

Discover the revolutionary Bullying Intervention System, an approach that stops bullying in its tracks without resorting to blame or shame. Learn how the Undercover Anti-Bullying Team (UABT), composed of students, has made remarkable strides in creating a safer and more supportive school environment.

The Solution Focused Approach to Addressing Attendance and Absenteeism Post-Covid

Caitlin Riojas

Explore a breakthrough solution-focused approach that was used to combat declining attendance rates in the aftermath of Covid. Listen to a captivating narrative that fostered a joyful school culture and led to record-breaking daily attendance rates across an entire district.

Alternatives to Punishment: Restorative Justice Meets Solution-Focused Counseling

Ben Furman

Venture into the transformative realm of restorative justice, where "taking

responsibility" replaces punishment. Join Ben Furman, a Solution Focused

psychiatrist, as he unravels the steps of responsibility, illuminating the path to mend relationships and inspire better actions through mediation and restorative justice.

Stand Up to Compassion Fatigue! A Solution Focused Approach

Sandi Johnson

Unearth the keys to combating compassion fatigue using the power of scaling and exception questions. This session aims to rejuvenate your spirit, along with your lunch, by helping you to recognize the signs of compassion fatigue, and empower you to rise above it.

Mission Possible! SF Coaching for Adolescents

Caroline Beumer-Peeters

Uncover the magic of Mission Possible, an 11-step Solution Focused Coaching program designed for adolescents. Learn how this approach simplifies goal achievement for teenagers with behavioral issues, equipping them to tackle challenges using their inherent strengths and resources.

What Happens When Students Learn the Secrets of SFT?

Dianne Brouchard

Dive into the transformative potential that unfolds when students grasp the intricacies of Solution-Focused Therapy. Stay tuned for a captivating exploration of the empowering ripple effects that follow when students put the secret to work!

Using the SF Approach for Suicide Prevention

Emma Burns

Understand the essence of the S.A.F.E. program, a Solution Focused approach to suicide prevention. This presentation is designed to equip non-clinical professionals and the public with effective strategies, illuminating the path towards a safer, more supportive community and save many lives.

From Burnout to On Fire: Holding on to Enjoyment & Optimism in School Based Work

Anne Rambo, Destini Kirkwood, Emily Garcia

Using Stories in Solution Focused Work

Andy McNeilly

Listen to a grand storyteller as he weaves the magic of storytelling into your solution-focused work. Hear how sharing your own narratives can inspire students to share theirs, fostering deeper relationships and helping them connect with personalized solutions to their challenges. This session is not only about facilitating trust but also about unlocking boundless possibilities.

Engaged Educators = Exceptional Classrooms

A Look Inside The Mind Of The Engaged Educator

Linda Metcalf

The engaged educator sees beyond problems at young humans trying to find their way. Through words and actions, the solution focused approach provides the educator with ways to show the students that they already know their way.

Just Suppose!

Merritt Watson, Nick Birkett, Deborah Schamrel

Suppose your teachers used the SF principles as teaching strategies helping them to dream, believe and achieve! Learn how a principal changed the view of a school's environment from problem to strength-orientated.

Every Step Of The Way: Solution Focused From Primary To Secondary School

Anne Wright, Christine Louw

Learn some creative ideas and activities that introduce the solution focused approach to children in grades 1 and 6 so they reach their best hopes/goals, learn how to figure out steps to take and keep the skills as adolescents.

Put On Your Solution Focused Bolo!

Russ Sabela

Come learn three ways to involve busy teachers to implement solution focused ideas in schools. Learn how to help teachers to Be On the Look Out for times when kids do well and discuss those times in team meetings and parent conferences.

Increasing Student/Teacher Engagement

Joy Blythe

Using respect and integrity teachers co-mentor their students weekly, where the solution focused approach takes on a new life! Learn the basic steps that each teacher follows to enlist and empower students to be motivated and successful. Plus, watch a video showing the approach and hear feedback from an actual student!

Hope In The Midst Of Despair: A Systemic Solution Focused Approach To End School Violence

Anne Rambo

Safe schools is on everyone’s mind, yet the focus is only on external factors like security. This presentation will provide the three contributing factors to school violence and identify the three contributing factors that can lead to reducing the likelihood of school violence. A very important presentation not to be missed.

Small Steps Lead To Big Gains

Deborah Teplow

Can asking teachers to do a simple solution focused task for five days improve their attitudes toward students and teaching? Come find out!

The Solution Focused School Can Be Yours!

Linda Webb

Garza High School is a solution focused alternative public school where 80% of the students are at risk. Yet, there is an 80% graduation rate and college enrollment. Plus, there are NO DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS. Come learn from the former principal of Garza how to begin creating your own solution focused school that is academically successful and safe.

A Purpose For Everyone!

Elliott Connie

Every student needs a purpose, and hope to continue growing in a chaotic world. Hear from Elliott what troubled youth really need and just how powerful all educators are!

WOWW

Laura Wallace

Working on What Works (WOWW) is a coaching intervention based on SFBT, created to help teachers improve their relationships and effectiveness in classrooms. Created by Insoo Kim Berg to improve classroom management, you will be amazed at the simplicity yet effectiveness of this strategy that any teacher can utilize immediately in

any classroom.

Scaling

Harvey Ratner

Scaling questions help the school client and teacher to consider their progress on a continuum, and then create ways to move toward success. Usable by teachers, school counselors, parents and administrators, learn how to help students identify small, achievable steps that motivate and inspire them toward success. Great for all grades

Learners Lead - Teachers Guide

Claire Bristow & Tshepiso Manganye

Tips and examples using the SF approach throughout the high school years. HS students contribute to classroom guidelines and goals, providing them with leadership and responsibility for their own learning.

The Sea Graph

Conchi Ferreiro

The SEA Graph is a social emotional academic graph that empowers students who get off track, to see more clearly the times when they were on track. Case studies galore!

Help Teachers Help The Students: The Solution Focused Success Plan

Cheryl Kretz

Teachers often get stuck in their ways of managing their class, leading to either an “easy” class or “tough” class. Learn how to work alongside teachers and help them to manage their classes well by creating a Solution Focused Success Plan with their students. A video will show the presenter doing this process with a class of students.

The Clever Collaborator

Regina Rockwood

Learn to quickly get out of the way of the problem while helping the student to see that they know the way forward. The method of using Circle Meetings to help the class work on individual goals as well as to collaborate on group goals will be addressed and resources will be provided to help educators learn more.

Building Connected Relationships Through Stories

Andy McNeilly

Connected relationships are one of the special joys of being human. By buildingstronger, more connected relationships with students, their academic results naturally improve.

Practicing Together to Create Success

Building the Solution Focused School Together

Bill O'Hanlon

From one of the initial master therapists of the solution focused approach, comes a message like no other! Get ready!

Empowering Students to Succeed

Elliott Connie

Every day is an opportunity to be a hope dealer in the lives of students. What is the thinking that can push you into motion where you provide hope when everything seems impossible? Elliott has an answer.

Coaching Educators to Use Solution-Focused Talk

Joe George & Felina Heart

This presentation will provide a review of the key aspects that the solution focused practice requires and explore examples of ways to utilize solution focused practice. Also learn how to lead guided practice so that educators can replicate the ideas in their own schools.

Doing Differently: A South African Solutions Focused School

Merritt Watson & Nicholas Birkett

Imagine for a moment that the difficulties you are experiencing at school become easier for you to manage. Your teacher speaks about the things that you CAN do anddoes not focus on the things that you find hard. Imagine your teacher actually talks and listen to YOU and asks how he/she can help you reach your best hopes. Imagine a school where you are rewarded and acknowledged in the classroom for the small changes you make in working toward your best hopes, where your strengths are recognized and you are encouraged to dream about your future. Imagine...

Solution-Focused Therapy: Tips and Tools to Use with Middle School Students

Tonya Romine

The presentation gives researched information on the essence of Solution-Focused Therapy. Counselors will learn tips and tools to implement with students at the middle or even the high school level to help students find solutions to challenging problems, help with decision making skills, build coping skills, or even build self-esteem to see their strengths which will ultimately help them to reach their goals or preferred future.

Turning Around Challenging Behavior Using Tools Within The Solution Focused Approach

Cheryl Kretz & Erik Wagter

After having worked with 1000+ families at risk of breakdown and trained 4500 professionals in the Solution Focused approach, Erik created a process to help professionals/parents understand why the child is presenting challenging behaviour and more importantly, a step-by-step process on how to turn around this challenging behaviour using the tools within the Solution Focused approach. Cheryl, the podcast creator of Parenting with a Focused Mindset, will interview Erik so everyone can learn the process.

Future Plan: Solution Focused Play Therapy with Children and Families

Pamela King

This interactive, online workshop will give attendees hands-on tools for working with children. Through simple play activities and discovery, attendees will learn to use toys and activities as conversational tools to not only increase client engagement, but to design the ideal future and move towards it. Attendees will leave with step-by-step tools and strategies for effective therapeutic outcomes with children and families.

Creative Multi-Sensory Solution Focused Activities for Children and Adolescents

Carol Bucholz Holland

Discover fun ways to engage and connect with children and adolescents in counseling sessions by using creative multisensory solution focused activities. The presenter will demonstrate how to incorporate props and creative arts into counseling sessions. These hands on activities are designed to facilitate the solution building process and they are infused with art, science and technology. The presenter will also discuss how neuroscience findings can be used t enhance our work with children and their families.

Solution Focused Risk Assessment

Anne Rambo & Alexandra Alfaro

Given the nationwide problem of school shootings and other violence, risk

assessment has become a standard part of the guidance or family counselor’s role. These presenters will demonstrate a solution focused model of risk assessment which enlists the cooperation of teachers and is proactive in reducing as well as identifying potential risks.

Building Connected Relationships with Your Students

Andy McNeilly

As teachers, we all want to build connected relationships with our students, as we know that relational trust helps us all achieve greater success. So how do we listen to our students for more effective academic outcomes? How do we help our students make links to help them solve their problems or challenges?

This practical and simple workshop is designed to help teachers and counsellors build that trust and connection with their students. This connection will enable teachers to be better able to assist their students to links with their own resources to better solve problems or challenges they face in their daily lives. Additionally, it will enable students to have ownership of their solutions, so they will be more effective problem solvers.

SHARE

Chris Iveson

Steve de Shazer used to say that as long as a person has a notion of “difference” it is possible to work with them in a solution focused way. He then said this usually first occurs when a child makes a rudimentary “scale” by placing bricks on top of each other. He was right! The Solution Focused process is the same with a four- year old child as it is with a thirty- four year old mother. Words and tone are adjusted but the

therapist’s task is the same: to help the client towards a better future by describing that future and by looking for how much of it is already in place. See this in action as Chris works with a four-year old child so she can become happier at school instead of being expelled.

Discipline, What is the Point?

Nicholas Birkett

At the heart of the presentation is the idea, to “discipline” in a way that provides skills to learners, so that there is no need to be disciplined in the future. It is an outline through a particular case study and other anecdotes that demonstrate the School of Merit’s approach to disciplinary issues. The school uses the ideas of goaling, skill finding and strength association (solution focused principals) in collaboration with the learner to guide them towards skills to better cope with or deal with the presenting concern.

Turning Parent "Drama" into Parent "Buy-In": A Solution Focused Feedback Conversation

Merritt Watson

Parent meetings and interviews are hugely challenging at times. It is very difficult for a parent to hear that their child is encountering difficulty at school either scholastically, behaviorally or socially. Parents ofter arrive at such meetings defensive, argumentative and on occasions, uncooperative. At the School of Merit we utilize a solution focused strategy to work differently with parents. The solution focused strategy includes a conversation that has four strategic elements to it, that can be compared to visiting a museum with four rooms.

Solution-Focused Meetings with Problem-Focused Folks

Sharon Casey

It can be difficult to be solution-focused in a case conference or interdisciplinary meeting where everyone else around the table is accustomed to talking mostly about the problem. In this presentation, we will review and test a tool used to facilitate solution-focused meetings about students who are experiencing emotional or behavioral difficulties. Participants will be able to use the meeting tool to facilitate their own SF meetings with teachers, principals, and other members of school teams.

Planting Seeds of Hope Using Metaphors

Deborah Schramel & Christine Louw

As Principal of a High School, Deborah is often confronted with negative and hopeless talk from teenagers who, though in mainstream education, have varying barriers to learning. Her students present as exceptionally anxious, negative and depressed. ‘Doing differently’ is their school slogan-finding strengths, scaling etc. In their register class each morning, they have implemented the idea of metaphors to goal and scale as individuals and in each grade. They have, in 2021, classes of superheroes, Gamers, The Lorax and the Spiderman multiverse of Miles Morales. This has resulted in a school where strengths are highlighted and dreams

encouraged. Hence planting the seeds of hope. It is this success, that they would like to share.

The Culture of Connection: Creating a Solution Focused School

Arlene Bonilla, Ann Newhouse & Erin Britain

In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, our school teaches students to manage the challenges of today and prepares them for future challenges in a rapidly changing world. As a solution focused campus, our school has created a system that allows counselors, administrators and teachers to maintain sincere positive regard for the student and foster a culture of connection. By doing this, our students have improved cognitive and academic performance as well as learned empathy, compassion, self regulation and problem solving skills to be productive citizens and leaders of tomorrow.

Helping Kids Calm Fears and Face Challenges

Cheryl Kretz

How can we use the solution focused approach with children in a way they understand? This may seem like a challenge when we come across children who have swirling thoughts of fear and seem paralized to move forward. In this presentation, learn strategies that help kids move from problem to solution-focused thinking and make positive changes toward facing their fears and challenges.

How Do We Come To Know Those Who Seek Our Help?

David Epston

How we come to know those who seek our help has been a question that David has problematised throughout his work life. He has come to the conclusion that there are two main ways of going about this which he refers to 'pathologising the other' and 'characterising the other'. One yields a patient and the other a moral agent; someone characterless or in possession of moral character. David will advocate for the latter and provide some of his reasons for doing so. As well, he hopes to provide you with a practice to do something similar.

Creating the Solution Focused School Climate

Creating The Solution Focused School Climate Now

Linda Metcalf

Students are yearning for engagement and acceptance. While their behaviors sometimes suggest the opposite, what if, such behaviors were met with a different mindset? What might be that outcome? This segment will briefly set the stage for a conference that embraces students and provides a climate of respect and curiosity through all staff interactions. Yes! It’s possible.

Paving The Path To The Future With Solution Focused Education

Linda Webb

Garza High School was built on the Solution Focused approach 22 years ago and is still growing strong. International recognitions and amazing data points continue into Garza High School’s 3rd decade as they serve an overwhelming at-risk population in Austin, Texas. What are the secrets Garza High School holds that we can all learn from as we enter this new time in education which may allow us to redefine how we educate ourselves, our staff, our community and our students? Join Dr. Linda Webb as she talks about those secrets and then, take the secrets to YOUR campus!

On Becoming A Solution Focused School District

Jennifer Roberts

Dr. Jennifer Roberts is the Director of Student Services at Lamar Consolidated ISD in Rosenberg, Texas. During the 2019-2020 school year, she heralded her school counselors together for trainings and requested that they all become SolutionFocused School Climate Specialists. Now, almost a year later, during the summer, 2020, she is arranging for all teachers to be trained virtually. Her leadership has gotten the attention of her school board and she is now on the the Texas Education Agency Task Force for HB906 School Mental Health. Listen to how Dr. Roberts brought her district to begin the solution focused approach and make it theirs. Hear comments from some of her school counselors who are solution focused school climate specialists. Hearing is believing...you can do this too!

Creating The Mindset Behind Garza High School

Cynthia Franklin

Dr. Franklin is Associate Dean for Doctoral Education, Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin, and an international expert on solution focused brief therapy. She created Gonzalo Garza High School fifteen years ago and today “Garza” is world renowned for its success. Listen to her describe the research implications for solution focused schools. the mindset behind the Garza HS and tips for starting the training at your school.

SFBT, Schools And Social Justice

Anne Rambo

In 2013, the PROMISE program in the Broward county public schools was developed to interrupt the school to prison pipeline, with stakeholders including the NAACP and law enforcement representatives as well as the school district. Nova Southeastern University’s graduate program in family therapy was contracted to provide the counseling component and chose to use an SFBT approach. Seven years later, the program has reduced recidivism from 50% to 8%, greatly reduced schoolhouse arrests, and been commended by the state school safety commission for reducing the risk of school shootings. It has also received partial sponsorship from a consortium of former NFL players, and has been the subject of intense public scrutiny. Working in a highly politicized context with at risk youth has been a learning experience for our graduate students and faculty alike.

Using Solution Focused Supervision In The Instructional Supervision Of Teachers

Marcella Stark, Marla Mcghee, Franchesca Frair

Dr. Marcella Stark, Dr. Marla McGhee and Ms. Franchesca Fraire hail from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. In this workshop, you will learn about a qualitative research study that examined how educational leadership students perceived the effectivenes of solution focused supervision with strategies as they engaged in instructional supervision with teachers.

The Mindset Behind the Solution Focused Approach

What Students Really Need Is Hope

Elliott Connie

At the end of the school day, what resonates with students as they leave the school building so they want to come back the next day? What is it like for all students to mingle together, wondering if they matter to the educators? This segment will provide insight into the social emotional needs students have to be loved and respected by their teachers. Yet, it seems hard for educators to sometimes take that step when students themselves are not motivated or disrespectful. Listen to Elliott talk about how being loved means there is hope in the world, and where there is hope, there is motivation, excitement and success. Could it be that simple? Listen to Elliott and decide.

Kids’ Skills - A Playful And Practical Approach To Solving Difficulties Faced By Children

Ben Furman

Kids’ Skills is a playful and practical approach to solving difficulties faced by children. At the heart of Kids’ Skills is one very significant notion—practically all problems can be seen as skills that need to be developed. Kids’ Skills does not blame children or

parents for difficulties. Nor does it eliminate the need for childhood professionals. But it does challenge traditional concepts of the role of ‘experts’. This method invites children to become active participants in skill-building and solution-finding. In other words, they become the experts on their own lives. Based on his best selling book, Kids’ Skills! You will love it!

Truancy And Discipline Referral Solutions - A Research Report And Strategies To Use Now

Paulina Guzzardo

Dr. Guzzardo’s experiences in an at-risk high school were eye opening to her in regard to student challenges and needs. What was more eye opening was the tendency for teachers to not know how to engage students who were school refusing. She quickly became passionate about the need to bring teachers and students into a solution building conversation to change the climate. This presentation is based on her research study that brought to light the power of using the solution focused approach, systemically, with teachers and students. Although

challenging at first, to get students and teachers together, she promised quick conversations that worked. The results were decreases in truancy, school refusal and disciplinary referrals. Her IDENTIFY program is one you need to hear about.

Helping Parents To Use The Solution Focused Approach To Notice Exceptions That Lead To Big Changes

Cheryl Kretz

Using the solution focused approach with parents is the best way to make sure you are all on the same page. In this talk we will discuss solution focused strategies and conversation starters for you to use with parents.The key is opening their eyes to the

exceptions. I will share examples and stories from my own counseling practice and talk about how you can switch up your communication to become solution focused in every parent interaction.

Solution Focused Schools For The Rest Of Us

Sharon Casey, Shaun Sullivan, Janna Gillis

Solution-focused practitioners may look at schools like Garza with envy. On or scale of 1-10, these alternative schools specializing in the solution -focused approach are a 10. But few of us will ever have the chance to work in a school like that. We might be very happy to get our school to a six. In this workshop, we will share how we did this, how we developed a small-scale implementation of solution-focused practices with a combined third/fourth grade class in an elementary school. We found that small changes do indeed lead to bigger changes, and that a six is worth celebrating. We will share how we designed the project, trained the staff, and supported the team in adopting and maintaining solution-focused practices in classroom management, work with individual students, and beyond. Exercises will allow participants to identify how they might begin to work on their own small-scale solution-focused

projects in schools.

Building Connections - A Story Of A Successful Solution Focused Project With Parents And Daughters

Edwin Tan

Family Bonding Sessions with Parents and their daughters who had been

institutionalised were the project that the presenter did bi-monthly for a period of five years, successfully. In the project, parents got to visit their daughters twice every month and in one of those monthly sessions, the practitioner facilitated a solution focused one hour session that built connections between parents and children in a dramatic way. Learn about the activity that was done together, creating and building connections between parents and their daughters. Then learn how the presenter

debriefed the session and made it meaningful to all.

Specific Solutions Focused Applications for Schools

The Solution Focused Approach With Children And Young People: Imagination, Application, Transmigration

Denise Yusuf

This presentation will explore the role of imagination for children, not only in visualising the changes they want to make, but also in the experience of those changes. Listen to some of the applications of the Solution Focused approach to work with children and young people in education settings and learn how the model itself can migrate within such a setting. Based on a brand new book that will be part of drawings throughout the conference, Denise will share her school experiences in the UK using these tools with all of us!

Solution Focused Group Counseling In Schools

Ayse Adil

Most school counselors know that they can “spread their influence” wider when they provide groups in schools. Whether it is a lunch bunch group in primary grades or specific groups for secondary students, the power of group counseling lies in its ability to be inclusive, where students feel a connection. Add in the solution focused approach, and in addition to connection, you create expertise. Listen, as Ayse shares her way of taking the solution focused group counseling approach into schools and transforms problem talk into solution building.

Modifying The Miracle Question To Assist Students Quickly And Efficiently

Armando Matinez

With so many obligations each day in a school, how does a school counselor find the time to be solution focused, effectively? Luckily, the brevity of the model lends itself well. In this presentation, learn how to utilize the approach in a short time frame such as a class period or half a class period with any student. In addition, learn how to modify the miracle question so it relates to school issues. And finally, this presentation will also describe how to modify a traditional safety plan that mirrors the solution focused approach. It’s all here. Join Armando as he shares how he stays solution focused every day with every teacher and student.

Making Re”Solution” Books

Amber Barbee

This fun session will explain how to make interactive “Band-Aid books”, such as notebooks and lapbooks for individuals of all ages, using the solution focused approach. These Re”Solution” books can be used for individual, group and family counseling in addition to parent/teacher conferences. Learn how they can be a wonderful resource/tool to help individuals with a solution focused mindset. Learn how to make your own book during the presentation. Handouts will be sent to everyone through email.

Connecting With Your Kids

Andy McNeilly

This seminar will focus on the importance of creating and building connected relationships with school children when implementing a Solution Focused approach to education. Often, as educators, we forget how important listening is. We may feel that we need to know everything. The word ‘education’ comes from the Latin ‘to draw out’, yet sometimes we think that it means to ‘put in’. This seminar will contain simple, practical, down-to-earth ways for educators to connect with students. Through participation in this seminar, you can expect the following:

simple, practical and easy was to connect with students

improved self-confidence in communicating with children of all ages

clear methods for building relationships and connecting with students