Keeping useful changes going
Describe the changes you want to keep, what going well enough means to you, what has helped, what to try if things get harder and how to get support again.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Keeping useful changes going
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What to keep, and how to get support
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When to use ‘Keeping useful changes going’
‘Keeping useful changes going’ 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 10 minutes. It centres on one focused exercise:
- What to keep, and how to get support
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
‘Keeping useful changes going’ 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., 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.
- De Jong, P., & Berg, I. K. (2013). Interviewing for Solutions (4th ed.). Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
- Ratner, H., George, E., & Iveson, C. (2012). Solution Focused Brief Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques. Routledge.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- NHS 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland): 111 — choose the mental health option for urgent help, in England, Scotland and Wales (in Wales, press 2)
- Lifeline: 0808 808 8000 — for urgent help in Northern Ireland, free, day or night
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- Shout: 85258 — text SHOUT, free, day or night
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 — 4pm–10pm, every day
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