1001 Solution-Focused Questions by Fredrike P. Bannink Summary

1001 Solution-Focused Questions provides therapists and coaches with a practical toolkit for client-centered interviewing, emphasizing goal-setting, resource identification, and future-oriented problem-solving. It offers 1,001 categorized questions for diverse scenarios – from trauma to family therapy – alongside exercises and case studies demonstrating the model’s effectiveness.

Mental health professionals (therapists, counselors), coaches, social workers, and educators seeking actionable techniques for client empowerment will benefit. Its structured frameworks and adaptable questions also aid mediators and organizational leaders navigating conflict resolution.

Yes – it balances theoretical foundations with immediately applicable strategies. Readers praise its comprehensive question bank, exception-seeking techniques, and exercises fostering creative client engagement. Therapists report enhanced session efficiency through its goal-oriented approach.

• Client-as-expert: Clients possess inherent problem-solving abilities.
• Exception-seeking: Identifying past successes to build future strategies.
• Language precision: Questions crafted to reframe problems into solvable goals.
• Scaling questions: Measuring progress quantitatively to maintain momentum.

Unlike problem-focused approaches, it avoids analyzing root causes, instead prioritizing actionable steps toward clients’ desired futures. It contrasts with CBT by emphasizing strengths over cognitive distortions.

• “The client is the expert”: Reinforces autonomy in solution-building.
• “If it works, don’t fix it”: Encourages leveraging existing effective strategies.
• “Nothing is constant in the whole world”: Highlights adaptability as a therapeutic asset.

It provides targeted questions to help clients articulate coping strategies, recognize resilience, and formulate immediate goals. Examples include exploring “survival skills” used during past challenges and scaling current crisis severity.

Yes – its frameworks apply to workplace coaching, education, and family mediation. Questions like “What would a 10% improvement look like?” help teams break down complex problems into manageable steps.

Some argue its simplicity may oversimplify complex trauma cases. Others note the approach requires skill to avoid seeming dismissive of clients’ emotional experiences.

Bannink’s 30+ years in clinical practice and training inform the book’s balance of rigor and accessibility. Her background in positive psychology and international workshops ensures globally tested methodologies.

• Miracle question drills: Guiding clients to envision problem-free futures.
• Exception journals: Documenting times when issues were less severe.
• Scaling visualizations: Using 1-10 metrics to track progress.

It categorizes clients as “visitors,” “complainants,” or “customers,” tailoring questions to their engagement level. For reluctant clients, it uses “soft” openers like “What would make this conversation useful?”