Solution Focused Brief Therapy Training and Conultancy (deShazer 85)

February 2010

The Consultants:

Eileen Murphy	Mawuli Amesu	Kevin Foley
Leonard Jason Lloyd	Miller Thompson	Terry Braithwaite

Welcome to Eileen Murphy Consultants, practitioners and providers of Training and Consultancy in Solution Focused Brief Therapy approaches.

We provide direct practitioner work, inhouse and public training, consultancy and Solution Focused training programmes.

Utilizing models that encourage collaboration with the client, who is after all the expert of the problem - we provide training courses that equip individuals and teams to work collaboratively with the client to achieve best outcomes for the client. These models include Solution Focused Brief Therapy (de Shazer '85); Guided Self Therapy; Optima Communication Skills (Murphy '2008) the Examine, Repair & Move On Approach(Murphy '93)

The Solution Focused Brief Therapy approach is a future-oriented, competency-based approach that owes its origins to Milton Erickson. Erickson was known for his innovative approaches to helping people. Holding no theory of pathology Erickson was interested in what helped people to change and believed in the innate abilities of each person to bring about the desired changes they envisioned. He was known for his hypnotic techniques that helped people to access their resources and competencies.

Steve de Shazer and Kim Insoo Berg harnessed Erickson's work and developed Solution Focused Brief Therapy

The approach allows for future-focused, strengths based conversations to help individuals and groups to create change

Our own experience, as practitioners, is that people are more attracted to talking about the start of new behaviour rather than talking about the stopping of old behaviour.

Simple conversations can often be instrumental in helping people move on – who, what, where and when are not only good journalistic skills, they are extremely effective therapeutic skills.

The focus of our work is always that of collaboration with the client. The client is the expert on what works for them; what worked a little in the past; what might work a little in the future - my colleagues and I strive to harness that expertise in the work towards repair and change.

An addition to Solution Focused Brief Therapy, we use the resources and visuals of the Examine, Repair & Move On Approach(Murphy ’93) which I first devised when working with challenging young people in 1993. These simple effective tools offer the client the opportunity to identify the change that needs to happen and who can do what to help change take place.

Our practitioner work includes a great deal of experience of working with individuals and families within the Public Sector and working with individuals who require absolute discretion in the Private Sector.

One of our specialist programmes, is The Prevention & Intervention Programme, Prevention & Intervention Programme - a whole-team training and project set-up programme, providing a positive and collaborative framework to reduce the numbers of young people and children coming into the care system under Section 20 of The Children Act 1989. Eighteen Local Authorities have implemented this programme as a front line, gatekeeping resource.

Our 1, 2 and 3 day training courses are provided across the UK as an inhouse provision. We run only one public course each year and details of this can be found on our Public & In-House Training page.

For details of our training courses, please either explore the website or contact us direct at info@brief-therapy-uk.com
or Telephone us at 0208 542 9310.

If you would like to engage in discussion or have questions that you would like to ask - then we would be delighted to hear from you - our email is info@brief-therapy-uk.com

Brief, supportive interventions are exciting to implement and exciting to discuss and we are always happy to do so.

Eileen Murphy

Eileen Murphy, practitioner and trainer in Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Eileen devised the Prevention & Intervention Programme , a front line resource utilized by eighteen local authorities across the UK since 1993 as a front line resource for working with children and families to reduce family breakdow and The Solution Focused School programme elements of which are implemented by schools scross the UK.

Eileen works directly with self-referred and statutory referred clients to help them achieve change. Eileen's lead specialism in the Consultancy is training staff to work with children, young people and families to prevent family breakdown; school exclusion and youth offending.

Eileen's other lead specialism is in the Drug & Alcohol field: currently instigating new ways of working with Drug and Alcohol clients within the Mental Health system, Eileen has developed the Silent Session method which has already been instrumental in helping hard to reach clients across all fields.

Mawuli Amesu, An experienced Social Work Manager working in a variety of settings including Primary Care Trusts; Residential Care; Education and Children & Families. Mawuli has played a lead role in the Behaviour Improvement Programme, providing leadership and management for multi-agency teams and engaging headteachers in collaborative working.

Mawuli has lead specialism within the Consultancy on Solution Focused Motivational Interviewing and Supervision for Managers.

Kevin Foley, BA (Hons) Econ. PGCE, MA Autism. Author of Asperger Solution. Kevin, whose lead specialism is A Solution Focused Approach to working with Aspergers, has twenty two years of teaching experience in inner city schools.

Kevin developed and headed an inclusion unit in a Manchester school serving the most socio-economically disadvantaged ward in England and works across UK and Ireland as practitioner and trainer with schools and SEN teams for better outcomes for staff and pupils.

Leonard Jason Lloyd BA(Hons) MISecM FRSA is visiting lecturer in Criminal Justice at Loughborough University and visiting lecturer in medical law at the School of Medicine at Leicester University. Author of twenty two books including The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act; An Introduction to Policing and Police Powers; Drugs, Addiction and the Law, Leonard's specialism in the Consultancy is Drugs and the Law. Leonard's work in this area is consulted by the Home Office.

Miller Thomson B.A., Dip Spec. Educ., Dip Educ. As a head teacher of a residential school supporting pupils with significant social, emotional and behavioural difficulties for over 23 years Miller has had extensive experience of using solution focused approaches in all aspects of school management. He has also developed and managed an outreach behaviour support service utilising the solution focused principles.

Miller’s specialism within the Consultancy is as a Gordon International’s Leader Effectiveness trainer and Team Building.

Terry Braithwaite BA DSW CQSW

Terry has been working within the social work field for thirty four years - the last eighteen at Team Manager level. Registered with the General Social Care Council, Terry has operated as manager of a 'Family Solutions Team' and 'Family Group Conference' Service, and is an accredited Family Group Conference Practitioner.

As well as his specialism in family relationships and prevention of breakdown, Terry also holds a specialism in mental health and practiced as an approved social worker for many years with specific skills and knowledge in the area of tranquilliser addiction and bereavement and loss. Terry's specialism within the Consultancy is that of Family Group Conferencing and Mental Health.

Terry also provides one-to-one sessions with individuals and if you would like to book a session with Terry, please email us info@brief-therapy-uk.com for details.

The contents of this Web site and the resources linked to it are intended for educational and informational
purposes only. Nothing you read on this website is meant to diagnose, substitute for, or otherwise
replace actual sessional work with a practitioner