Complimenting Strengths Throughout the Session

Deliberately name real strengths, efforts, and resources the person displays — not as praise but as information.

Why it works

Self-efficacy — belief that one is capable of achieving the desired outcome — predicts behavior change across domains. Genuine, specific compliments build self-efficacy by directing the person’s attention to evidence of their own competence they may have overlooked. The SFBT compliment is not cheerleading; it is a specific observation ("I notice you’ve kept showing up despite all of this — that’s not easy") that carries informational content about the person’s character.

How to do it

1. Listen throughout the session for strengths the person demonstrates or describes, without waiting for an obvious opening.
2. Name them specifically and immediately: "You drove 40 minutes to get here — that tells me how seriously you’re taking this."
3. Connect the strength to the goal: "That persistence is exactly what this kind of change needs."
4. Avoid generic ("great job!") or patronizing ("for someone in your situation") praise.
5. End each session with a brief, genuine summary of strengths you observed in that session.

Evidence

Bandura’s self-efficacy research is the foundational evidence base — verbal persuasion (being told you can do it) is one of the four sources of self-efficacy, with vicarious experience and mastery experiences being stronger sources. Specific, grounded compliments are more effective than generic praise. (observational)

Self-efficacy evidence is robust; SFBT complimenting as a specific delivery form has not been isolated from the broader SFBT package in controlled trials.

Sources

• Bandura (1977), self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, Psychological Review

Common mistake

Complimenting effort and results without connecting them to the person’s character or the goal — "you worked hard" is less powerful than "working hard through this is evidence of the commitment you have to your family."