Coaching practices for Solution Focused Tasks
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Solution Focused Tasks, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- All day my attention goes straight to what went wrong
- It feels like this is just how I am
- I know everything I want to get away from, but if you asked me what "better" actually looks like
- I finally tried something and it only half-worked, and my whole brain went "see, nothing I do ever works"
- I sit down for the big project and a hundred little nagging things keep tugging at me
Practices that may help
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations. - The Formula First-Session Task and Between-Session Noticing
Assign between-session observation tasks that direct attention toward what’s already working.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works - Exception Finding: When Is the Problem Already Less Severe?
Identify times when the problem was absent or less severe — these are evidence that solutions already exist.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works - Preferred Future: Describing Life When the Problem Is Solved
Ask the person to describe in concrete, behavioral detail what life looks like when things are better.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works - The Miracle Question: Designing Your Life Without the Problem
The miracle question — "Suppose a miracle happened and the problem was solved while you slept — how would you know? What would be different?" — is a solution-focused technique that bypasses problem-analysis and invites clients to describe, in concrete behavioral detail, what they actually want. It is a clinical tool within SFBT, which has moderate RCT support; the question itself has not been isolated in controlled trials but is widely used and clinically well-supported. - Evaluate the outcome and adjust
After implementing, honestly assess what worked, what didn’t, and what to do next.
Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical - Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
Problem-Solving Therapy (PST), developed by Nezu and D’Zurilla, treats depression and anxiety by building structured, step-by-step problem-solving skills — targeting the learned helplessness and avoidance that occur when people face stressful life problems without an effective coping framework. Multiple randomised trials support PST for depression, especially when linked to real-life problem load. - Batch small tasks to completion before starting large ones
Clear the small, quick tasks from your queue before starting a large focused task — not after.
Attention Residue: Why Switching Tasks Costs More Than You Think - Name one most-important task each morning
Each day, identify the single item from your Focus List that most needs to move forward today.
Warren Buffett’s Two-List Strategy - Climb the why–why ladder
Ask "why is this a problem?" repeatedly to reveal the higher-level goal your current framing may be missing.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
Related concerns
- Solution Focused Brief Therapy
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
- Solution Focused Brief Therapy Building On What Works On A Budget
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
- What Is Solution Focused Therapy
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
- Problem Formulation Therapy
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
- Problem Solving Therapy During A Big Change
After implementing, honestly assess what worked, what didn’t, and what to do next.
Evaluate the outcome and adjust
- Solution Focused Brief Therapy Building On What Works After A Loss
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, directs attention to what already works — client strengths, past successes, and desired futures — rather than to analyzing problems. Meta-analyses report small-to-moderate positive effects across a range of presenting issues, with particular strength in behavioral problems and depression in adult populations.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.