Evidence-Based Therapy
Spend less time analysing problems and more time building the future you want. Solution-focused therapy is a brief, practical, evidence-based approach that starts from your strengths.
WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is an evidence-based, future-oriented approach that helps you identify what you want to change and take concrete steps toward it — without needing to dwell at length on the origins of the problem. Developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, it is one of the most widely used brief therapies in the world.
Rather than asking ‘what is wrong and why’, solution-focused therapy asks ‘what do you want instead, and what is already working?’ It assumes you already have strengths, resources, and past successes to build on — and helps you notice and expand them.
This makes solution-focused therapy collaborative, respectful, and typically short-term. It is well supported by research for depression, anxiety, stress, and relationship difficulties, and is widely used with individuals, couples, families, and young people.
The Miracle Question (imagining life once the problem is solved), scaling questions (rating your progress from 0 to 10), and exception-finding (spotting the times the problem was absent or smaller) — all designed to build a clear, achievable picture of the change you want.
Solution-focused therapy is flexible and effective across many everyday and clinical concerns:
Solution-focused sessions are collaborative, positive, and focused on progress rather than problems. A typical course involves:
Getting clear on what you want life to look like — often using the Miracle Question to picture it in detail.
Identifying exceptions, strengths, and past successes you can build on, however small.
Rating where you are now from 0 to 10, and describing what just one small step forward would look like.
Setting achievable actions between sessions and reviewing what worked, so momentum builds naturally.
Solution-focused therapy is genuinely brief — many people see useful change within 4 to 8 sessions. Your psychologist reviews progress with you, and you finish when your goals are met.
We believe cost should never be a barrier to quality mental health care. There are several ways to fund your sessions at The Talk Shop:
Medicare Mental Health Care Plan — up to 10 rebated sessions per calendar year with a GP referral. Bulk billing may be available.
WorkCover & TAC — no out-of-pocket cost with an approved claim; we bill your funder directly.
NDIS — supported for plan-managed and self-managed participants.
Private Health & self-funded — extras may apply; affordable rates from $50, no referral needed.
Not sure what you are eligible for? Call 1300 224 665 and our team will help you work out your options before your first session.
We offer solution-focused therapy in-person at all four Melbourne clinics and via secure Telehealth Australia-wide:
Often, yes. Many people make meaningful progress in 4 to 8 sessions because the approach focuses tightly on your goals and existing strengths. Some people need more, and your psychologist will always follow your pace.
Not necessarily. Solution-focused therapy respects your history but concentrates on what you want to change and what is already working, rather than analysing the problem at length.
It is effective for depression, anxiety, stress, relationship and work difficulties, low motivation, and life transitions — and works well for individuals, couples, families, and young people.
Most therapies focus on understanding and reducing problems. Solution-focused therapy focuses on building the solution — your preferred future and the strengths that get you there.
Yes. Solution-focused therapy works very well over secure video, and its practical, goal-focused style translates naturally to online sessions.
No referral is needed to book. A Mental Health Care Plan from your GP lets you access Medicare rebates for your sessions.
Kim, J. S. (2008). Examining the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: A meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 18(2), 107–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731507307807
Gingerich, W. J., & Peterson, L. T. (2013). Effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: A systematic qualitative review of controlled outcome studies. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(3), 266–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731512470859
Franklin, C., Zhang, A., Froerer, A., & Johnson, S. (2017). Solution-focused brief therapy: A systematic review and meta-summary of process research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12193
Our Melbourne psychologists use solution-focused therapy to help you make practical progress, fast. Book online or call — no referral needed to start.
