Insoo Kim Berg
SchoolSolution-Focused Brief Therapy
Lived1934 – 2007
FromUnited States
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Insoo Kim Berg

Co-created a strengths-based, future-focused approach.

Co-developer of solution-focused brief therapy, emphasizing clients’ strengths and future-oriented solutions over problem exploration.

terms

techniques

Almost every problem contains an element of its solution.
— Insoo Kim Berg

Who they were

Insoo Kim Berg was a Korean-born American psychotherapist and social worker who pioneered solution-focused brief therapy. Born in Seoul, she emigrated to the United States in 1957 and studied at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. In 1978 she co-founded the Brief Family Therapy Center with her husband Steve de Shazer, and led SFBT training workshops in dozens of countries.

Their big idea

Solution-Focused Theory

Change comes from building on strengths and exceptions, not analyzing problems.

The approach they founded

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Skips deep problem analysis for the future you want — your strengths, exceptions, and the next small step.

Questions in their spirit

What they’d ask you

Sit with one. Answer online, or in the app.

All questions

Carry the idea forward

Berg — What they’d ask you

Psipas asks you one small, honest question at a time — and builds the picture from your answers.