The population of Americans with serious illness is large and growing. I cannot recommend this program enough.Photograph by Nathan Mitchell/Health Affairs The program has completely transformed my approach to my work as a nurse supporting families with children with Autism, shifting my focus from what can I do to fix a family’s problems, to how can I work with families to access and activate their own strengths and resources, so they can become confident, engaged participants in their healthcare journey with their child and family. I will be one of the first cohorts to be nationally accredited as a solution-focused healthcare coach after going through the program developed by Elaine Cook at Holland Bloorview. This program has been instrumental to forming not only ‘what’ I say to my clients, but ‘how’ I see the world of healthcare and my place within it. I leave every group session with a new word and/or question I am curious to explore in my next clinical session. Having the opportunity to connect with peers of service providers who are passionate about learning and using solution-focused communication in their frontline practice has been foundational to forming the type of occupational therapist I am today and hope to become tomorrow. The evidence- and theory-based approach of the curriculum has guided me beyond a formula for solution-focused conversations towards principles for navigating life situations with a solution-focused approach. I now feel like a more valuable contributor to meetings, more willing to approach problems with curiosity and realistic optimism, and safer in relating to clients, colleagues, and even my own family and friends. The growth of my general conversational skills, my appreciation for curiosity, my ability to help myself and others remove our focus from the obstacles in life to see the routes around them, and my facilitation skills in general have been exponential. I am grateful that I have been able to take so much more from my learning. In signing up for the SFHCC certification, I was hoping to grow my clinical interviewing and goal setting skills.

The idea that the client is the expert in their own lives, and that it is our job as healthcare professionals to amplify the strengths and resources of our clients in order to develop their agency as the author/authority of their own healthcare journey, was a paradigm shift for me. It has helped me to be a better listener, and to create goals and strategies collaboratively with my clients that are more in alignment with what is important and meaningful to them. When I first encountered solution-focused coaching, it was an “Aha” moment. What makes the SFHCC program unique is the integration of coaching hours and supervision into the practitioner’s current role/practice-learning and placement as one seamless structure.

Monthly classes include formal and informal learning contexts where participants will engage with their peers and instructors to create experiential learning opportunities.įrom our first, highly engaging class, emphasis is placed on supporting the participant’s implementation of solution-focused communication within their unique healthcare context. The SFHCC program is an intensive 12-month coaching program with a humanistic approach to healthcare that is made practical through solution-focused skills and strategies. Humanistic, solution-focused communication supports a culture of collaborative, interdisciplinary practice, while safeguarding the wellbeing of healthcare providers/workers. Our programs support and equip healthcare providers with the skills to work collaboratively and synergistically with each other and their clients to emphasize, amplify and reinforce agency, strengths and resources already present in all stakeholders. We aim to create a prevalent and enduring culture of humanistic healthcare by reinforcing approaches and skills consistent with client-centered care.

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