Steve de Shazer, biography of a pioneer of solution-focused brief therapy

Steve de Shazer is recognized around the world as one of the pioneers of solution-focused brief therapy.. This is a modality of intervention based on conversation and the principles of social constructionism. The latter emphasizes the way in which the context affects perceptions, affects and reality in general.

Such therapy is considered a minimalist approach. This starts with a series of small steps capable of producing a change. Such change is gradually expanded until it generates systemic or global modifications.

Another of the great contributions of the specialist was that of contribute to the “depathologization” of difficulties. Instead of focusing on deficits and abnormalities, it focused on what the patient or client was capable of doing. The latter has the leading role in this type of approach.

The Life of Steve by Shazer

Steve de Shazer was born on June 25, 1940 on the shores of Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee (Wisconsin, United States). He was the son of an electronic engineer and an opera singer. His first great passion was classical musicso he became a saxophonist jazz and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

After, He continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin until graduating with a master’s degree in social work.. She trained under the mentorship of John Weakland, another of the pioneers of brief therapy. The two had a friendship that lasted a lifetime and was very fruitful for both of them.

De Shazer married psychotherapist Insoo Kim Berg. The two founded the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee in 1978. This would become the epicenter of the development of their theories. He was always a fan of baseball, long walks and beer. He read Wittgenstein in his original language and was a great admirer of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.

According to the theory put forward by Steve de Shazer, listening to patients is essential to finding solutions to their problems.

A new approach to therapy

The great contribution of this professional was to reorient the practice of therapy. He started from the idea that people are capable of creating valuable solutions, starting from their own resources. He asked the families to talk about the last time they had managed to solve the problem that brought them to consultation. He believed that solutions should come from the knowledge and ideas they already had.

In this model, the role of the therapist is to direct attention towards the present and the future, leaving aside the past. The process begins when the person manages to visualize the desired future and takes small steps to achieve it.

This perspective is also based on the idea that there are many positive things happening in the life of someone who goes to therapy. The objectives of the process include the identifying those positive aspects and isolating the things a person would like to change. Then we work to foster continuous change, guided by Steve de Shazer’s eight premises:

If it’s not broken, it’s not fixed. If it works: insist. If it doesn’t work: don’t insist. Small steps can lead to big changes. The solution is not necessarily related to the problem. The language for developing the solution is different from the used for the description of the problem. Not all problems appear “always”, there are exceptions that can be used. The future is either created or negotiated.

In its beginnings, brief therapy assisted a large number of families with problems; Today its application is not far from its origins.

A legacy of great relevance

The great objective of this psychotherapist was to simplify therapy, so that it would be less burdensome for the patient or client and, at the same time, more effective. During his work at the center he founded, he personally attended to 700 consultations per year.

In general, These were poor families with major problems, without social security or government aid.. With this type of people he understood that the greatest virtue of a therapist is knowing how to listen to his client and take what he says seriously.

Shortly after the year 2000 he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.. Steve de Shazer did not want to stop working, because he could not conceive his life without being in contact with knowledge. He died shortly after getting off a plane in Vienna in 2005.

Precisely It was in Europe where his ideas were most valued. Today there are at least 50,000 UK employees who have been trained in solution-focused brief therapy. Something similar happens in other countries on the old continent. Shazer’s Steve legacy is universal in scope.

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