Six solution-focused strategies when 'Nothing's better' | Paul

What do you do when you start a follow-up session and you ask in the classic solutions-focused tradition, ‘What’s better?’ and your client replies, ‘Nothing really’?

This was one of the great discussion topics at this year’s Brief summer school, and here are answers that the group of consultants, coaches and therapists came up with ...

• ‘How have things been?’ – to open up the conversation, and hope there’ll be something positive to build on from the reply to this question.
• ‘So why did you decide to come back?’ – taking a tack of curiosity, expecting that the client will reveal some hope in attending this session.
  
• ‘OK, I guess you’ve had some better moments; what’s the highest you’ve been on the scale this week’ – searching for the highlights, given that the week will have had ups and downs
  
• ‘Nothing really… so perhaps something,’ – taking the client’s exact words and playing lightly on the idea that nothing really is not the same as nothing. This one has the virtue of persisting with a question that you felt was worth asking.
  
• ‘Since we last met, what have you been pleased to notice about yourself?’ – inviting another look back at the time since last meeting with a view to unearthing some personally pleasing qualities.
  
• ‘What improvements have you managed to hang on to?’ – a great question if there was previously progress, but the client has now hit something of a dip.

So what are your favoured conversational tactics if you get a ‘Nothing’s better’ reply when you’re on the hunt for progress?