Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in Schools ─ 360-Degree View of the Research and Practice Principles

Since the publication of the First Edition, there have been several advances on the research on Solution-focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) in schools. This Second Edition contains updates on how to apply SFBT to specific problem areas that school social workers frequently encounter. Each chapter has been updated and expanded to provide to incorporate a Response to Intervention approach (RtI) in many of the clinical "SFBT in Action" chapters. The authors also utilized results from the second national school social work survey, conducted by a team led by Dr. Kelly and currently in press at School Mental Health Journal and Social Work, to identify several targeted school-related problems that school social workers encounter in their work and demonstrate how to use solution-focused techniques for them.

Despite being places with tremendous challenges for students and staff, schools are also places of solutions, strengths, and successes. This practical guide shows school social workers how to harness the solutions; filled with case examples, key points to remember, guidelines for reviewing resaerch, sample dialogue, and best practice tips, this book gives readers the essential tools to begin incorporating SFBT into their practice immediately.

Johnny Kim, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Dr. Kim received his Master's degree in social work from Boston College, Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a Council on Social Work Education Minority Clinical Fellow. Dr. Kim's research and scholarship focuses on evaluating solution-focused brief therapy, evidence-based practice, school-based interventions, and quantitative research methods. Dr. Kim teaches courses in clinical social work practice and solution-focused brief therapy.

Michael Kelly, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Family and School Partnerships Program (FSPP) at Loyola University Chicago's School of Social Work. Loyola's FSPP has provided ongoing training and consultation to over 800 school mental health providers (most of them school social workers) since the late 1990s. Prior to coming to Loyola in Fall 2006, he was a school social worker, family therapist, and youth minister in the Chicago area for 14 years. He is the Associate Editor of the Advances in School Mental Health Promotion Journal and serves on the Editorial Boards of School Mental Health, School Social Work Journal, and Children & Schools.

Cynthia Franklin, PhD, MA, MSSW, is the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health and Assistant Dean for the PhD program in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Franklin also holds a faculty fellow appointment at the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk in the Department of Special Education. Dr. Franklin's research examines the practice and effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy with children and adolescents. Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Franklin has worked as a therapist, consultant, trainer and researcher for schools and mental health agencies.