Developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg in solution-focused brief therapy (de Shazer, Clues, 1988).
Asks someone to imagine the problem solved overnight without their knowing, then to describe what they would notice first, turning a stuck complaint into a concrete picture of the goal.
When to reach for it
A team or client that can describe only what is wrong, in a planning conversation that never reaches what they actually want.
How it runs
- Warn that the question will sound odd.
- Ask: the problem vanished overnight; what is the first thing you notice?
- Wait for the answer without filling the silence.
- Ask what others would notice, to make it concrete.
- Ask whether any piece of it already happens.
- Ask for one small step toward it this week.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
Go to the source
- Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy, 1988
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Brief Family Therapy Center, Milwaukee, 1980s