Solution-focused therapy / SFB-A04-1
Exception Finder — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind exception finder and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Devin started one task more easily when a friend sat nearby.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Useful differences can appear when a difficulty is less influential.
The idea
Useful differences can appear when a difficulty is less influential.
An ordinary example
Devin started one task more easily when a friend sat nearby.
What this can look like
Recall a recent manageable exception, what was different, and which elements could realistically recur.
Check the fit
Which detail made that occasion different? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
A preferred future can include advocacy, accommodations, and external change; optimism is not required.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- Which detail made that occasion different?
Conceptual background
What is Solution-Focused Therapy? — Solution-Focused Therapy Institute
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.