Updated: September 17, 2020 | Original Post: August 30, 2019

If you are not familiar with Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), click here for a quick overview.

I was working with a student who was feeling increased anxiety over their school work, and as they got closer to their deadlines they procrastinated more and found that their stress skyrocketed. We quickly agreed to use a SFT-based approach and focused our first session on the specifics of what they were feeling and thinking. Once we have an idea of what was holding them back from a cognitive point of view, we explored technology and lifestyle. This individual made limited usage of their phone’s calendar and had never been taught how to approach their work.

Our first step was to put all deadlines into their calendar so that they were now known and easy to find. Then I walked them through how to take an assignment and break it up into smaller components. This helped them get a little bit done each day rather than having to do the entire project over a weekend. It also helped them see what they knew and what they needed help with so they could ask their teacher for help. The result was more assignments handed in on time and overall lowered anxiety.