Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) in Alberta

Practical conversations that uncover strengths, highlight solutions, and build momentum toward the life you want.

Is Life Stuck in Problem-Mode? Let’s Switch the Lens

When life gets noisy, it’s easy to spend most of your energy analysing what went wrong. Days revolve around worries, setbacks, or endless self-criticism. The more you dig for reasons, the more complicated things can seem. Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) offers a different path. Instead of combing through every detail of the past, SFT asks a practical question: What would you like life to look like instead? and what’s one small step that points in that direction?

At the Mental Health Clinic, we provide SFT online across Alberta from Calgary and Edmonton to Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, and smaller communities. Sessions centre on your goals, your strengths, and the concrete signs that change is already possible.

What Is Solution-Focused Therapy?

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is a structured, short-term counselling approach that works like a problem-solving roadmap. Instead of spending most of the time analysing why something is happening, the focus is on identifying a problem or goal, looking at exceptions and strengths, and outlining small, practical steps to move forward.

In SFT, your therapist helps you:

  • Describe what you want life to look like when things improve

  • Notice times when the problem felt lighter or more manageable

  • Highlight strengths and resources you already use

  • Break goals down into steps you can start applying right away

Clients often say SFT feels efficient and purposeful. There’s a plan, a direction, and clear markers of progress so you can see change building session by session.

Who Benefits from Solution-Focused Therapy?

Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is a good fit for people who want counselling that is practical, structured, and time-efficient. Instead of spending months revisiting the past, SFT helps you focus on clear goals and the steps needed to reach them.

You may benefit from SFT if you are:

  • Struggling with ongoing worry, stress, or anxious thoughts

  • Feeling low in mood or motivation and wanting direction

  • Experiencing conflict or distance in relationships

  • Working through confidence or self-esteem challenges

  • Navigating a life transition such as career change, parenting, or separation

SFT is especially helpful when you want concrete strategies you can use right away and a therapy style that measures progress session by session. It’s designed for people who value purposeful conversations that lead to visible results.

What to Expect in an SFT Session

Your first session clarifies direction. We start by asking what would be different in your day-to-day life if therapy were working. Together we translate that into observable signs: what you would notice at home, at work, or in relationships when things begin to shift. Rather than hunting for everything that is wrong, we look for exceptions, moments when the struggle eased up, even a little. These “better-than-usual” moments are important; they reveal strategies you can use again.

Sessions feel conversational, collaborative, and efficient. We check in on progress using simple scales so you can notice even small changes. You leave with a focus for the week, something manageable to try, or a cue to notice moments that already point toward your goals. The aim is steady momentum, not perfection. Over time, these small steps add up to meaningful change that feels earned and sustainable.

How SFT Differs from Other Therapies

Many therapies invest significant time in tracing problems back to their origins. That can be useful, but it isn’t what everyone wants or needs. SFT differs in a few important ways. It spends more time on what you want life to look like and less on reliving difficult events. It builds on strengths and recent improvements, rather than analysing setbacks in detail. And it tends to move faster, because the work is concentrated on specific changes you can make in the short term. If you prefer a future-focused plan with clear checkpoints, SFT may fit your style.

If you’re curious about how SFT compares with more skills-oriented methods, our pages for CBT and DBT outline where those approaches shine. Many clients choose a blended path: SFT to set direction and motivation; CBT or DBT to expand skills for thinking patterns or emotion regulation.

Concerns SFT Excels in Addressing

SFT is versatile. Clients often use it when they want a practical route forward in situations like ongoing worry, low mood, and relationships under strain. It’s also helpful during transitions like returning to school, starting a new role, adjusting to co-parenting, or re-building routines after a tough season. Because SFT clarifies desired outcomes and surfaces strengths you already have, it’s a strong choice when you need a plan you can apply right away.

Why SFT Works

SFT makes change feel doable. When your attention stays glued to problems, your brain produces more of the same. SFT shifts the lens to what is working, even if it’s small, and teaches you to repeat and grow those moments. That shift increases your sense of control and reduces the pressure to “fix everything.” You start by changing one part of the day that matters. Then you build on it.

What to Expect Between SFT Counselling Sessions

SFT continues outside the hour. You might track the first signs that a morning, meeting, or conversation goes even slightly better than usual. You might try a small, specific change we discussed like saying one sentence differently in a hard conversation or preparing for a task with a simple cue. If something doesn’t land, that’s useful data. We adjust, simplify, or try a new step. The focus is steady progress, not fault-finding.

How We Measure Progress

We check progress in clear, simple ways. Early on, we define what “better” would look like and choose markers you can recognise in daily life. We also use plain 0–10 scales to track week-to-week movement. When you notice momentum such as better mornings, fewer arguments, more follow-through, we mark it and build on it. When life throws a curveball, we stabilise and return to what works. This keeps therapy focused, purposeful, and accountable to your goals.

Why Choose The Mental Health Clinic for SFT

People choose us because they want practical therapy that respects their time.

Alberta-wide access, secure and convenient
Meet from a private space via telephone or by using our encrypted video platform. No commuting, no waiting rooms, and flexible scheduling options. Daytime and evening appointments available.

Evidence-based and practical
Our therapists use current SFT protocols recognised by national organisations. Sessions are structured and goal-driven, so you see where time goes.

Human first
We bring a steady, respectful presence and adapt language and examples to your world. You always have a say in the pace and direction.

Clear next steps
Every session ends with a simple plan for the week, so you know how to apply what you learned.

We also offer a free 20-minute consult so you can meet a therapist first, ask questions, and see whether this approach fits.

Learn more about how we work on About Our Clinic, or learn more about out Therapists.

SFT Fees and Insurance Coverage in Alberta

As is standard with private counselling, fees are due at the time of your appointment.

  • Many extended health plans (e.g., Alberta Blue Cross, Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, Green Shield) reimburse counselling with qualified providers; coverage varies by plan.

  • Receipts provided for sessions include the details insurers require for claims and tax purposes.

If you’re unsure about benefits, contact your insurer and ask whether your plan covers counselling with your provider’s designation in Alberta.

Frequently Asked Questions About SFT

  • SFT is designed to be brief and focused. Some clients reach their goals within a set number of sessions; others continue longer or integrate with other treatment approaches for additional tools.

  • Solution-Focused Therapy is designed to be efficient and goal-oriented. Many clients see meaningful shifts within 6 to 10 sessions, though this depends on the issue’s complexity and how clearly goals are defined. Because SFT focuses on solutions you can test between sessions, progress often becomes visible early on. Your therapist and you will regularly review your goals and adjust the pace if you reach your desired outcome sooner, therapy can conclude; if further growth is needed, we adapt safely and purposefully.

  • Not necessarily. In SFT, the past may be discussed briefly to highlight times when things went better or to uncover strengths you used before. But, the emphasis is on how those insights can guide you today. By keeping most of the conversation centred on the present and the future, SFT helps you move forward without becoming stuck in old patterns.

  • Yes. Solution-Focused Therapy is particularly effective for anxiety and depression because it shifts attention away from what feels overwhelming and onto what is already working, however small. In sessions, you’ll learn to describe clear signs of improvement, break goals into realistic steps, and notice the strengths you’re already using in daily life. This process helps reduce the intensity of anxious or low moods while building confidence that progress is possible. Clients often report that focusing on solutions rather than problems gives them a greater sense of control, stability, and forward momentum.

Start SFT in Alberta Today

If you want therapy that focuses on what works and helps you build momentum, SFT is a strong place to start. Book your free 20-minute consult to meet a therapist, ask questions, and set a direction that makes sense for your life.

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