Training and Consultancy in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (deShazer '85)

The Prevention and Intervention Programme

This intensive Training Programme is designed for use by Local Authorities and agencies who wish to use the approach as a focused whole-team resource when working with clients to bring about change. To date, seventeen local authorities have commissioned this training programme across the UK, with the latest, Rochdale Borough Council due to begin their training in September 2008.

Traditionally used as a "Gatekeeping" Service as a front-line resource when working with Children & Families to prevent family breakdown. Following the training, the designated team are able to use the Approach as both a preventative and crisis intervention.

The Salford Brief Intervention Team led by Team Leader, Pat Garmory

The Consultancy returned to Salford in June 2007 to work with the Salford team, included in the training was the locality team made up of Education Welfare Officers and Family Support staff. Salford received their initial training in 2000.

There have been ongoing developments since this time and due to recent expansion of the team the current staff are;-
Pat Garmory the Team Leader, Maureen Rendle, Sue Tonge, Alison Fletcher, Eleanor Rowbotham

This is a citywide service with a focus on young people aged 7yrs - 17yrs, however the ethos of the team is to involve the whole family as far as possible. The aims of the service are:-

- To reduce the risk of family breakdown
- Support families in over coming relationship issues
- Reduce the risk of permanent exclusion from school
- Support the reunification of Looked After Children
- Prevent foster placement breakdown

Oxfordshire implemented our Programme as part of their Children & Services Plan to reduce the numbers of children and young people coming into the care system under Section 20.

DUDLEY Metropolitan Borough Council implemented their Prevention & Intervention Training Programme with the Family Support team at Greystone Passage.

Dudley Launch Information Release: As a contribution to the local preventative strategy, the Children and Families Division has established the Prevention & Intervention service. The initiative is based on messages from research around supporting families and links with refocusing to provide a prompt preventative service.

The approaches embodies a forward-looking model and sets family-identified and family-owned targets over a short intervention period of 6 sessions. The language used is accessible and emphasis is given to engaging with the practical mindset of families, working within the family, socio-economic and ethnic cultural framework of building strengths.

Goal setting and graded achievement is an integral part of the process so that progress can be readily recognised by participants. Both parent and child are worked with in the session. Other family members and significant players, including teachers, will also be involved as appropriate.

The service will provide an extensive package of support to young people and their families. It wil offer a rapid response to emergency referrals and immediate request for accommodation in respect of children referrred under Section 20 will be firmly resisted until the intervention is completed.

Feedback from Local Authorities who have implemented the Programme include:

By having the whole family together in a neutral setting it gives them a chance to listen to each other as well as to be heard and to know that their opinions are valued. The family then move from problem dominated thinking towards solution orientated thinking, talking and description. The trained practitioner acts as a conduit to move the service user from victim to a position of recognising their own strengths, resources, competences and solutions.

There are currently over 140 families receiving a service. The training in the summer had an extremely positive impact on the teams and staff morale remains high. The resulting self confidence and optimism is brought to the families during the therapy sessions and the successful outcomes so far achieved reinforces how powerful this method of intervention can be. In terms of impact on the organisation the desired outcomes of the service were, for children and young people aged 11 and over ;

- Increase service user satisfaction
- Reduce the size of the Looked After population
- Reduce the number of new admissions to care
- Reduce the duration of care episodes
- Reduce spot purchased external placements due to capacity issues
- Reduce out of hours admissions

Questionnaire returns over the last six months have indicated a high level of satisfaction from families and service users and data from our management information systems show a significant drop of around 50% in the number of new admissions to care for this group of young people including a sharp fall in out of hours admissions. In the last few months the directorate has been able to bring back four young people from external placements which were made due to lack of internal capacity.

John Donnelly
Service Manager – Family Support – Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

I have used Eileen Murphy Consultants as a change agent for social workers and their managers to divert young people from the care system. Eileen Murphy developed the approach when I was Director of Housing and Social Services in Sutton and I re-engaged her to work on similar issues on the Isle of Wight. In both cases her approach made a significant difference to the numbers of young people going into public care.

On the Isle of Wight we have reduced the numbers in public care by 12% in 2 years against a national trend of rising numbers. Much of this reversal I put down to the effectiveness of Eileen's training and teaching. The Isle of Wight has established itself as a 2 star authority after a failed Joint review in 1999. The SSI have determined we are serving most children well and have promising prospects for improvement. I would have no hesitation in recommending Eileen Murphy Consultants for work in this area.
Charles Waddicor, Director of Social Services & Housing, Isle of Wight Council (now Director at Oxfordshire County Council)

The Prevention & Intervention training was received enthusiastically by Bracknell Forest children's teams who are now using their skills in everyday situations with the children and families they work with.

The training has changed our way of thinking and shifted the emphasis from problem solving to looking at change and possibilities.

The training was fun and very well presented and the next "batch" of social workers are waiting eagerly to complete the training.

The following comments were made by various attendees of the course

"Yet another useful tool, the charts and visuals have helped me focus on what needs to change, not on what has gone wrong"

"It focused on strengths and possibilities"

"Very useful, I have been able to use the various tools in many different ways"

"It focused on language which is important, the presenters were knowledgeable and fun"

"I now use the graphics and task charts regularly and it has helped families focus more"

These were just a few of the comments - we are using the tools and have had some very good results. We are now able to offer families an alternative and by enabling them to take control - the results speak for themselves.
Verna Goodman, Bracknell Social Services.

For further feedback from participants and commissioners of the programme - please visit the Testimonials page

The Programme is designed for use by teams who wish to use the approach as a focused whole-team resource when working with clients to bring about change.

The Programme is also offered to YOT teams to prevent recidivism., Drug & Alcohol Teams to help clients achieve change and to Education teams to reduce disaffection and exclusion.