This makes me think about the possibility of having an approach in Solution Focus that is characterized by respectful curiosity. At the beginning of my work as a social worker many years ago, we visited detained young people in custody. They often found themselves in a very confusing situation. These clients had literally, at the moment, no-one else in their lives and could often not visualise the future. In this situations, Solution Focused conversations was a possibility to connect, stretch the world and talk about hope.
That sounds great Annika! I wonder if you might be able to share one or tiny specific examples of using SF conversations in this very difficult setting please?
Yes, I will definitely check out my notes from that time (nearly 30 years ago) but also check if there is anything written on häktesprojektet (the custodyproject). That type of activity is really needed now days in my country, Sweden,(more children than ever in modern time are in custody.)
So fun to go a little deeper into memory! Today I found a small report at the local library written in 1991. By then the project had been going on for a few years. The project was a collaboration between the Probation Service and Social Services and began as early as 1987, and then the mission was to get in contact with people who were described as criminal addicts or young people at risk of being criminalized. The original social problem that the project had to deal with was the spread of HIV among the target group. But the mission was also to motivate alternatives such as treatment. There was a clear intention on the part of society to show alternatives to crime and addiction. In the early 90s, the team decided they wanted to work with a solution-oriented treatment model and also developed an outpatient service. The method was used both in outreach work at the detention center and in outpatient treatment. Harry Korrman was involved as a trainer and supervisor of the staff who were also trained by Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer.
I was involved by the time of my internship 10 years later. For me, it was the best introduction to solution focus on systems theoretical basis and social work and I am very grateful to have experienced it. When I had the opportunity to participate and have SF conversations in custody, the issue of HIV was pretty much gone. I remember the conversations in these cramped, often smelly rooms with isolated people who might not have had any contact with the outside world for a long time. We were visitors in their cell, (I also think the role of guest and conversation leader is so interesting! ) Initially the questions were often about information gathering. Date of birth, health issues, various types of medication, criminal suspicion, whether the person had borrowed books from the library, did the person have cigarettes? how did sleep and food work?
And I also remember the challenge moment of moving to asking more world-stretching questions, (which we also always did) Questions about hope, desired future and even miracles came up and the shift to these world-stretching questions was so clear. Sometimes there could be a huge tension in the air as the questions were given space. A risk-taking that required courage from all of us in the room/cell and certainly often frustrating. At the same time, these people were in such a difficult situation with no way out that this perhaps even increased the possibility of describing hopes, dreams, turning points, there was really no other way to go but forward, often the conversations became world-stretching and sometimes resulted it in that the person then chose to go to outpatient care for treatment which in turn led to a life free from crime and drugs.
Do you know if SF is used in custody/within correctional services today in Europe, or elsewhere? (In Sweden they often use MI but not SF that I know of.)
Thank you Annika! Your experience of the difference between information questions and world-stretching questions is so relevant and also so clear, particularly in the very difficult setting you describe. And yes, the giving of space is key. I also like your connection about the space, whose space is it, who it host and guest, who is visiting the space of someone else. Maybe that's something for me to write about another time.
I don't know myself about SF in custody/correctional services in Europe. I was in touch with Lorenn Walker who uses SF in restorative justice practices in Hawaii. Maybe readers of the list know of other examples?
This makes me think about the possibility of having an approach in Solution Focus that is characterized by respectful curiosity. At the beginning of my work as a social worker many years ago, we visited detained young people in custody. They often found themselves in a very confusing situation. These clients had literally, at the moment, no-one else in their lives and could often not visualise the future. In this situations, Solution Focused conversations was a possibility to connect, stretch the world and talk about hope.
That sounds great Annika! I wonder if you might be able to share one or tiny specific examples of using SF conversations in this very difficult setting please?
Yes, I will definitely check out my notes from that time (nearly 30 years ago) but also check if there is anything written on häktesprojektet (the custodyproject). That type of activity is really needed now days in my country, Sweden,(more children than ever in modern time are in custody.)
Please do, Annika. Thank you.
So fun to go a little deeper into memory! Today I found a small report at the local library written in 1991. By then the project had been going on for a few years. The project was a collaboration between the Probation Service and Social Services and began as early as 1987, and then the mission was to get in contact with people who were described as criminal addicts or young people at risk of being criminalized. The original social problem that the project had to deal with was the spread of HIV among the target group. But the mission was also to motivate alternatives such as treatment. There was a clear intention on the part of society to show alternatives to crime and addiction. In the early 90s, the team decided they wanted to work with a solution-oriented treatment model and also developed an outpatient service. The method was used both in outreach work at the detention center and in outpatient treatment. Harry Korrman was involved as a trainer and supervisor of the staff who were also trained by Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer.
I was involved by the time of my internship 10 years later. For me, it was the best introduction to solution focus on systems theoretical basis and social work and I am very grateful to have experienced it. When I had the opportunity to participate and have SF conversations in custody, the issue of HIV was pretty much gone. I remember the conversations in these cramped, often smelly rooms with isolated people who might not have had any contact with the outside world for a long time. We were visitors in their cell, (I also think the role of guest and conversation leader is so interesting! ) Initially the questions were often about information gathering. Date of birth, health issues, various types of medication, criminal suspicion, whether the person had borrowed books from the library, did the person have cigarettes? how did sleep and food work?
And I also remember the challenge moment of moving to asking more world-stretching questions, (which we also always did) Questions about hope, desired future and even miracles came up and the shift to these world-stretching questions was so clear. Sometimes there could be a huge tension in the air as the questions were given space. A risk-taking that required courage from all of us in the room/cell and certainly often frustrating. At the same time, these people were in such a difficult situation with no way out that this perhaps even increased the possibility of describing hopes, dreams, turning points, there was really no other way to go but forward, often the conversations became world-stretching and sometimes resulted it in that the person then chose to go to outpatient care for treatment which in turn led to a life free from crime and drugs.
Do you know if SF is used in custody/within correctional services today in Europe, or elsewhere? (In Sweden they often use MI but not SF that I know of.)
Thank you Annika! Your experience of the difference between information questions and world-stretching questions is so relevant and also so clear, particularly in the very difficult setting you describe. And yes, the giving of space is key. I also like your connection about the space, whose space is it, who it host and guest, who is visiting the space of someone else. Maybe that's something for me to write about another time.
I don't know myself about SF in custody/correctional services in Europe. I was in touch with Lorenn Walker who uses SF in restorative justice practices in Hawaii. Maybe readers of the list know of other examples?