Impact of Self and Therapists’ Evaluation of Responses to Miracle Question and Goal: Survey of Japanese Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Abstract

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is a psychotherapy which does not focus on the problem, but on the clarification of the goal state and the extension of the exception. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of both clients’ and therapists’ evaluations of goal clarification on the variables which is considered important in SFBT. A total of 223 participants who responded to all questionnaires were the subject of the analysis. The results of this study showed a correlation between self and therapists’ evaluations for the imagination of the Miracle Question, the concreteness of the goal, and the reality of the goal. On the other hand, none of the relationships were strongly correlated, confirming that the self evaluation and the therapists’ evaluation differed to a certain extent. Goal-related evaluation by the therapist had a positive impact on solution building, solution orientation, and causal analysis. Besides, self evaluation related to Miracle Question and goal had a positive impact on self-efficacy and degree of problem-solving. These findings indicate that self and therapists’ evaluations related to Miracle Question and goal have a diverse effect on problem-solving.