Australasian Solution Focused Association

ASFA aims to further the practice of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (and the use of the Solution-Focused approach in other contexts) in Australia and New Zealand. In many ways, the formation of the Association in 2013 was the next logical step in the development of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy "down under". The European Brief Therapy Association (EBTA — founded by a group which included Steve de Shazer and Insoo Berg) has been holding conferences, promoting research and coordinating information in Europe for around 15 years. The Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association (SFBTA) has been playing a similar role in North America for most of the last decade. It was about time that we think about how to develop some kind of "identity" for Solution-Focused practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. The Association is incorporated as a non-profit association under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act. This limits the liability of members and office bearers for any debts the Association may incur. Having this legal status is important, since it allows us to operate as a Solution-Focused "entity" and — hopefully — lends credibility to the Association and, by extension, to the Solution-Focused approach. One of the intangible benefits of being a member of ASFA is that you are contributing to the broader recognition of Solution-Focused as a legitimate approach. There are Solution-Focused professional associations in more than fifteen countries (or groups of countries). The existence of a properly established professional association helps add credibility to Solution-Focused practice.