Dr Melissa Barnaschone, Ms Refiloe Seane, Dr Elliot Connie, Mrs Jenny van Molendorff and Prof Adelene Grobler

International presenter, author, and solution-focused therapist, Dr Elliott Connie (USA), presented a one-day workshop at the UFS on Friday 27 March 2015.

Hosted by the UFS Unit for Professional Training and Service in the Behavioral Sciences, together with Student Counselling & Development, the event attracted a substantial crowd to the Albert Wessels Auditorium on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Dr Connie is the founder of The Connie Institute, in Texas (USA), co-author and co-editor of The Art of Solution-Focused Therapy as well as the author of Solution Building in Couples Therapy.

Dr Connie is known for delivering dynamic workshops that are focused on having an immediate impact on attendees’ personal and professional lives. His humour and story-telling skills make him a highly sought-after presenter.

So, what is solution-focused brief therapy?

The biggest difference between solution-focused brief therapy and other more traditional approaches is the idea of solution building as opposed to more commonly utilised problem-solving in sessions. Solution building is a process of identifying and amplifying components of clients’ lives that they would like to experience more of. This process also requires the therapist to work with clients to identify what their strengths are, and how they can better utilise them to create a life in line with their desired futures.

This workshop was highly interactive, packed with lots of exercises and video examples from real clients, as well as live demonstrations by Dr Connie.