Solution-focused therapy / SFB-A19-3
Ending with a Useful Summary — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about ending with a useful summary while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Devin wants a summary that does not turn possibilities into promises.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. A closing summary can use the person's language and preserve uncertainty.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore ending with a useful summary using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: A closing summary can use the person's language and preserve uncertainty. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Summarize the preferred difference, one existing resource, and an optional next step; invite correction. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Devin wants a summary that does not turn possibilities into promises.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What would you change in this account of today's conversation? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What would you change in this account of today's conversation?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
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.