Stephen Henfrey

I am a solution focused practitioner with over 30 years’ experience of working in young people’s services. I am a well-respected and highly skilled facilitator and coach with extensive experience providing clients with learner-centred training and consultancy services. I work with organisations to build customer focus, train and develop people and facilitate a positive culture. I have led diverse teams of professionals in training and learning design interventions, and facilitated training programmes in partnership with broad-ranging groups of stakeholders and am committed to providing clients with an opportunity to learn, develop skills and achieve their full potential.

I have worked with multicultural groups in England, Spain, France and South America in the public, private and non-governmental sectors. Clients include:

• Awareness Centre

• 15billion

• BRIEF

• Catch-22

• Chrysalis Care

• CityLit

• College of North West London

• Corelli College

• London boroughs of Bexley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Newham, Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth

• Greenwich PCT

• Hackney Quest

• Lewisham Youth AID

• London East Connexions Partnership (LECP)

• NCY Trust

• Osmani Trust

• Peabody

• South London YMCA

• Thurrock Council

• UK Association of Solution Focused Practitioners (UKASFP)

• YMCA George Williams College

The workshops are both dynamic and participative, promoting a stress free training experience in which delegates can feel comfortable interacting with both myself and their fellow delegates; and designed to challenge and encourage them to acquire practical, hands-on skills to enhance their workplace performance. Delegates will be encouraged to share their own experiences during the workshops to promote their participation and learning as much as possible. I use real-life examples and refer to current best practice throughout the training. 

Face to face appointments are Mondays-Fridays 9-4pm

Appointments last 50 minutes

Virtual (Zoom/Teams/FaceTime) and telephone appointments are as above with some scope for evening sessions

The core beliefs I hold are:

• everyone has strengths, competencies and resources
• the client is already doing some of the solution
• to work with the client rather then the problem
• to look for resources rather then deficits
• to explore possible and preferred futures
• to explore what is already contributing to those possible futures
• to treat clients as experts in all aspects of their lives

I see a therapy as a conversation. A solution focused conversation in which talk, solution talk, is future orientated and involves harnessing a client's strengths, competencies and resources to achieve their best hopes.

We use this conversation to identify what works for you. We identify what works so you can do more of it. The more time we spend doing what works, the less we waste our time and energy. 

The client is the expert of their life experiences and has the wherewithal to bring about sustainable and meaningful change. It is the role of the therapist to access ways of talking with clients to support their achieving their best hopes.

To summarise, the solution focused approach is to:

• Highlight client strengths and expertise

• Suspend negative assumptions and hypotheses

• Embrace client solutions and solution finding strategies

• Do more of what works

Hi. I am a solution focused practitioner with over 20 years’ experience practising as a counsellor and coach, working with clients of all ages and backgrounds.

What will you notice that will tell you that therapy has been useful?

Solution focused brief therapy involves identifying and developing effective solutions to the issues clients are experiencing. 

In our sessions we will work in partnership to establish your best hopes for therapy. We will identify and explore how to make effective use of your personal strengths, experiences and resources through informed decision-making.

In my experience, effective management of feelings of anxiety and depression, and the impact of low self-esteem and self-confidence all figure highly as 'best hopes for therapy'.

'If it works, do more of it'.

Focusing on solutions does not involve downplaying problems. Solution-seeking shifts our focus, enabling us to reframe the challenges we face, fostering our resilience and generating positive momentum.

We are each the expert of our own life experiences and within us all lies the key to meaningful and sustainable change. You are already doing some of the solution. Together we will explore what works for you. We will develop a vivid description of the 'solution' as the means of achieving your best hopes.

As well as counselling, I teach the solution focused approach to trainee counsellors, psychotherapists and related professions. I am also a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).

I firmly believe that no question is silly, so do feel free to email me for any further information that could help you decide if the solution focused approach is right for you.

'The more and more you listen, the more and more you hear; the more and more you hear, the deeper and deeper your understanding becomes'.

Your first session could be your last!

No assessment. 

The first question I ask every client is, 'what are your best hopes for our meeting today?' And we go from there.