1001 Solution-Focused Questions: Handbook for Solution-Focused Interviewing (A Norton Professional Book)

De Shazer has submitted that problems are like subway tickets. They help the client get through the turnstile, but they do not determine what train the client will take or where he or she will get off. In other words, where someone wants to go is not determined by the point of departure.

De Shazer (1994) viewed solution-focused interviewing as a “tap on the shoulder.” The solution-focused professional does not need to push or pull; rather, he or she is always one step behind the client and looking in the same direction. A tap on the shoulder directs the client’s attention and helps him or her look at something from a different angl