If you are looking for an IASTI qualified training institute, please contact the institute of your choice from the list linked below.

All member institutes have training programs in the solution-focused model that aim to teach skills up to the level of IASTI certification. You need to take training and supervision and pass an examination to be certified.

Find a list of all member institutes here.

General information about the training

Each level of certification follows training in the solution-focused model as originally developed at Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) by Steve de Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg (De Shazer, 1988, 1991, 1994; de Shazer and Berg, 1992) and the team.

BFTC developed the solution-focused brief therapy model (SFBT) influenced by the work of Milton Erickson and the MRI institute at Palo Alto. In addition to the model as it was described by Insoo and Steve, the IASTI training may also include later developments and descriptions of how the approach can be used in Solution-Focused practices in a variety of contexts and clients.

Training hours

Each level consists of 50 hours direct formal training and 100 hours personal professional activities.

• Direct formal training is the organized formal training that is being led by a teacher/trainer. It includes the trainer giving lectures describing the model, but also exercises targeting specific solution-focused techniques, the studying of videotaped sessions, watching live interviews with clients and other work on specific example cases.
• Personal professional activities are activities that you will be able to exercise in part during your normal working hours or even at home. Since the training and practice of the solution-focused model is meant to be done at least in part within the context of  trainees’  every  day professional activities, you do not necessarily need to allocate exclusive time for all required hours toward certification.
  • Examples of these training activities include: Using solution-focused techniques in sessions and evaluating  the result,  reading assigned solution-focused texts, peer supervision, role plays, keeping a daily diary of observations about resources or other SFBT principles, using the Solution-Focused Micro tools of Michael Hjerth, or other solution-focused learning activities identified by an IASTI Institute.

The proportion between classroom and personal training activities is 1:2 at each level of certification. This reflects the shared view of IASTI Member Institutes that in order to be most successful, trainees need to practice the solution-focused model in their respective  professional environments, and that trainees need to develop their skills in a variety of ways both within and outside of the training classroom.

• Hours of supervision of the trainee’s work  are regarded by IASTI as an important part of training in the solution-focused model and these are to be included in the total of 150 hours training at each level of certification. Each institute will plan for the inclusion of supervision in their training program with regard to their training tradition and local context.