Solution-focused therapy / SFB-A05-4
Deliberate and Accidental Exceptions — Session activity
Facilitate a structured practice of deliberate and accidental exceptions with preparation, reflection, and an agreed closing.
30 minutes · Session guide · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Devin worked well in a quiet waiting room without planning to.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. A helpful difference can be noticed even when it was unplanned.
0–5 min | Agree on purpose and fit
Explain the educational scope. Ask what would be useful, check readiness and access needs, and establish choices to observe, adapt, or pass. Use an ordinary example; do not solicit trauma narratives.
5–10 min | Orient with an example
A helpful difference can be noticed even when it was unplanned. Fictional example: Devin worked well in a quiet waiting room without planning to. Ask what is observed and what remains uncertain.
10–20 min | Practice and compare
Compare one intentional change with one helpful accident and identify what can be repeated. Offer quiet individual work, a supported conversation, or an observing role. Compare two possible responses without evaluating people as right or wrong.
20–25 min | Reflect on meaning
What part of the accident can become a chosen support? Ask what fit, what did not fit, and how culture, power, disability access, or external conditions affect the options.
25–30 min | Integrate and close
Invite one optional next step or support request. Orient to the current setting, allow an unfinished question to remain unfinished, and agree how to revisit it. End early or adapt if activation increases.
Adaptations
For a group, use fiction and no compulsory round-robin disclosure. For remote use, allow off-camera reflection and private notes. For brief use, keep one example and one question while retaining opening and closing choices.
Prompts for this resource
- What outcome would make this practice useful?
- What part of the accident can become a chosen support?
- What adaptation or follow-up is needed?
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.