Steve de Shazer
Turned therapy from problem-analysis to building solutions.
Co-founder of solution-focused brief therapy, holding that clients build change by focusing on desired futures and existing strengths.
techniques
Problem talk creates problems; solution talk creates solutions.
Who they were
Steve de Shazer was an American psychotherapist and a primary developer of solution-focused brief therapy. A former jazz saxophonist, he trained in social work and in 1978 co-founded the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee with his wife Insoo Kim Berg. His work drew on social constructionism and the brief-therapy tradition, focusing sessions on solutions rather than problems.
Terms they cared about
Ideas worth knowing
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.
Carry the idea forward
Shazer — What they’d ask you
Psipas asks you one small, honest question at a time — and builds the picture from your answers.