Finding exceptions and a useful next step

When to use ‘Finding exceptions and a useful next step’

‘Finding exceptions and a useful next step’ is an interactive solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) worksheet. Consider this resource when a client wants to describe a preferred future, notice exceptions to a difficulty and identify strengths or small next steps they could try.

It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device or download it as a print-ready PDF.

How it works

Most people work through it in around 15 minutes. It moves through four short steps:

1. What you want to be different: Start with your experience, including circumstances that make change difficult.
2. A specific time that was different: It can be a brief moment. If none fits, describe how you got through a hard time or leave this for discussion.
3. What progress would look like to you: An optional number can help a conversation. It is not a score or a judgement.
4. A useful next step: Build on what is possible, including changing conditions or seeking support. An exception does not mean you can make it happen every time.

Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.

The SFBT approach behind it

‘Finding exceptions and a useful next step’ draws on solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). SFBT explores what the client would like to be different and what signs would show that difference in everyday life. Attention turns to exceptions, when the difficulty is less present, and to strengths or resources already available. These details provide a starting point for discussing small next steps that the client considers realistic and worthwhile.

It is intended as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis. The therapist can help decide how it fits the work and discuss what emerges.

Evidence & sources

This worksheet draws on solution-focused brief therapy. Key sources include:

• de Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
• de Shazer, S., Dolan, Y., Korman, H., Trepper, T., McCollum, E., & Berg, I. K. (2007). More Than Miracles: The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Haworth Press.