Solution-focused brief therapy as an alternative for clinical social work in Chile

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2017-01-06

Authors

Gonzalez, Karla, Ph. D.

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Abstract

This manuscript consists in a three-paper dissertation that compiles relevant research and practice regarding solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) with Latinos and Latin Americans who present alcohol use disorders. In this sense, the first paper is a systematic review on all the empirical studies of SFBT with Latinos that have been published and not published from January 1990 to December 2014 and uncovers the scarcity of empirical studies on SFBT in Latin American countries. Findings suggest that this approach is a promissory alternative to intervene with Latinos and Latin American people who present varied psychosocial problems. More empirical studies examining different conditions will inform regarding its effectiveness. The second article corresponds to the description of an exploratory linguistic adaptation of the SFBT approach for Chilean, clinical, and vulnerable population who are alcohol users, following a qualitative approach. Findings suggest that this population understood main SFBT techniques after changing phrasing to make them clearer and simpler. In addition, practitioners should consider issues such as stigma of alcohol use in women, inclusion of family members in the treatment process, and being attentive to what client wants; all of these considerations are consistent with SFBT. The third article presents a pilot implementation of the approach with the population to which the approach was culturally adapted, four social workers were trained in SFBT and eight individuals with alcohol problems received a three-session SFBT. Data were analyzed using visual analysis, percentage of non-overlapping data, linear regression, and hierarchical linear modeling. Main findings suggest that individuals receiving SFBT trended to increase their abstinent days, decrease their depression scores, consequences of alcohol use, and improve their self-reported wellbeing. These three papers build on the small literature available until now regarding SFBT with Latin Americans, and sit the basis for continue to build more empirical research that provides Latin American practitioners with an evidence-based intervention to implement with their clients.

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