March 2026 Newsletter
Happy March, dear SF Community!
A Solution-Focused Approach with Children & Adolescents
Working with children and adolescents invites practitioners into a world shaped by play, imagination, relationships, and rapid change. Therapeutic approaches therefore benefit from being developmentally attuned- aligned with young people’s cognitive capacities, emotional expression, and the everyday ecological contexts of family, school, and peer life.
For many young people, a counseling session can feel like an interrogation about what went wrong, like explaining a broken toy they never intended to damage. Questions such as “Why did you do that?” often lead to shrugs, silence, or the familiar “I don’t know.” SFBT shifts this dynamic. Instead of playing detective to uncover deficits, the therapist becomes a co-explorer on a treasure hunt, operating from the assumption that the “treasure”, the child’s skills, resilience, and creativity, is already present and waiting to be noticed.
Early in my career, a single session reshaped how I listen.
A young girl sat across from me. The file on my desk told one story, a story of significant trauma. My training had prepared me to follow it there, to let the wound define the work. But the solution-focused stance asks something different of a clinician: not to ignore pain, but to remain curious about the life that continues alongside it.
So, I asked her one simple question:
“Can you tell me about a day recently that felt even a little bit good?”
She straightened almost immediately. “Art class,” she said. A classmate had been struggling to finish a project, and she had leaned over to help. When the teacher noticed their teamwork, she felt a quiet pride she hadn’t quite expected.
I stayed with that moment.
“With everything you’ve been carrying lately,” I asked, “how did you manage to notice someone else needed help, and actually do something about it?”
She gave a small shrug. “I just like helping people.”
In five words she revealed something no assessment had captured: a durable strength already active in her daily life. The traumatic experience was real, but so was her resilience, and it was not the whole story.
We spent the remainder of the session tracing where this quality of care appeared, in friendships, classroom moments, and small acts of cooperation. The therapeutic task shifted from excavating damage to amplifying a resource already sustaining her.
This moment captures the essence of solution-focused practice. It does not ask us to look away from difficulty; rather, it invites us to hold a wider frame- one spacious enough to notice the strength sitting beside the struggle, waiting to be named.
Sometimes it arrives quietly.
Sometimes it sounds like a shrug and five simple words.
That evening, I wrote this in my diary.
What the File Didn’t Say
The file said trauma; the room said wait.
A small girl arrived with more than her weight.
I asked for a moment that felt almost right-
she found one in art class, in someone else’s light.
She leaned over gently, helping a friend through.
“I just like helping people,” she said, and I knew.
The wound was real, but not all of her story:
strength was still there, quiet in its glory.
Hope was a spark she carried inside,
a small steady flame she did not hide.
And somewhere beyond what the file could see,
a young heart was already learning to fly free.
- Written by Baijesh Ramesh
If you want to deepen your ability to notice, name, and amplify the strengths already present in the children and adolescents you work with, join us for our upcoming workshop on Solution-Focused practice.
Discover practical tools, real case applications, and developmentally attuned questions that transform sessions from problem-saturated conversations into hope-filled collaborations.
👉 Read more about the workshop and register at this link.
/ HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2026
Monthly SF Community Gathering (For both Coaches & Therapists)
2026 Programs in Therapy and Coaching
/ MONTHLY SF COMMUNITY Gathering
9 March 2026 | SGT 12:30 - 2:00 pm | 2nd Monday of each month
Solution-Focused Horse Whispering in the Year of the Fire Horse
The Academy of Solution Focused warmly invites coaches, counsellors, supervisors, and solution-focused practitioners to a 90-minute online meet-up exploring the theme: “Solution-Focused Horse Whispering in the Year of the Fire Horse.”
While the title is playful, the reflection is purposeful. The metaphor of “horse whispering” points to attentiveness, partnership, responsiveness, and skilful influence without force — working with energy rather than against it. Much like solution-focused practice, it invites us to notice what is already alive and moving: hope, readiness, courage, direction, and possibility.
In the spirit of the Fire Horse, we’ll reflect on vitality, momentum, strength, freedom, and purposeful movement — both in our conversations with clients and in our own professional growth.
This is not a lecture, but an open and collegial discussion. Together we will explore questions about responsiveness, energy, trust, courage, and staying light yet purposeful in our work.
Practitioners at all stages are welcome.
Come ready to think, share, and perhaps discover a fresh image for your practice.
2026 Academy Training Courses
ICF Accredited Coach Training: ACC / PCC / MCC
Level 1 ACC: Fundamentals of SF Coaching | 60 Hrs
COHORT 2: 6 Jul - 19 Aug 2026 | Online | Intensive | Mon & Wed COHORT 3: 28 Sept - 21 Oct 2026 | 9:00 - 5:00 | In Person
Level 2 PCC: Coaching in Organizations, 65 Hrs
21 Sep - 3 Nov 2026 | In Person | 9:00 - 5:00 pm
Leadership: 21 - 23 Sep | Team Coaching: 12 - 14 Oct | Coaching Clinic: 2 - 3 Nov
Level 3: MCC Masterclass Course, 75 Hrs
6 Aug - 26 Nov 2026 17 Sessions | 3 hours each | Thursdays | SGT 7:00 - 10:00 pm | Online Zoom
6, 13, 20, 26 Aug; 3, 10, 17, 24 Sep; 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Oct; 5, 12, 19, 26 Nov 2026
Advanced Certification in Team Coaching | 60 Hrs
Cohort 2: Team Coaching Training, 17 Aug - 9 Nov 2026 | In Person
> Team Coaching Module | 17 -19 Aug 2026 | 9:00 – 5:00 pm
> Group Team Coaching Supervision | 5 Sessions | 7-8 pm | 24,31 Aug; 7, 14, 21 Sep
> Team Coaching Mentoring Sessions | 5 Sessions | 7 – 8 pm | 5, 12, 19 Oct, 2,9 Nov
Cohort 3: Team Coaching Certification, 2 Nov 2026 - 9 Feb 2027 | Online
> Team Coaching Module | 2 – 4 Nov 2026 | 9:00 – 5:00 pm
> Team Coaching Supervision | 5 Sessions | 7-8 pm | 10,17,24 Nov, 1,8 Dec 2026
> Team Coaching Mentoring | 5 Sessions | 7 – 8 pm | 13,20,27 Jan, 2, 9 Feb 2027
Includes: Team Coaching Supervision + Team Coaching Mentoring
EMCC Accredited SF Coaching Supervision Course
Coach Supervisor Training | 150 Hour Course | Online | 24 Sessions | Thur | 8-10 am 16, 23, 30 Apr; 7,14, 21, 28 May; 4,11, 18, 25 Jun;2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Jul; 6, 13, 20, 27 Aug; 3, 10, 17 24 Sep 2026
/ SF Therapy Training Certification
Level 1: Solution Focused Practitioner | 50 Hrs
Cohort 1: 9 March - 7 April 2026 | In person | Debbie Hogan
Cohort 2: 4 May - 4 June 2026 | US Based Time | Online | Joe Cannon
Cohort 4: 14 Oct - 13 Nov 2026 | Online | Baijesh Ramesh
Level 2 Advanced & Level 3 Master Practitioner
Level 2: Certification: Includes 3 workshops + Supervision
Level 3: Certification: Includes 3 workshops + Supervision
Workshops
2026 Level 2 & 3 Workshops, $600 each
1. Transition & Change | 26 – 27 Mar 2026 | SGT 9-5 pm | Online | Jane Tuomola
2. Supporting Clients with Mental Health Challenges | 9-10 April 2026 | 9:30 – 5:30 pm | Online | Baijesh Ramesh
3. Working with Children | 16, 17, 23, 24 April | SGT 5-8 pm | Online| Baijesh Ramesh
4. Introduction to SF Supervision | 11-12 May | SG 8am – 4pm; 10am – 6pm Australia | Online | Jane Tuomola
5. Facilitation Skills w/ Groups & Teams | 10-11 Aug | 9-5pm | F2F | Debbie Hogan
6. Utilization Principles of Milton Erickson | 9, 16, 23, 30 Nov | SGT 5 – 8 pm | Online | Debbie Hogan
;SFBT Group Supervision
6 sessions over 6 months | 1.5 hours | $100 / session | Package $600 | Online | 4-6 people
Lunchtime Group: Jane Tuomola | 4th Tue of each month | SGT 12-1:30 pm
Dates: 24 Mar; 28 Apr; 26 May; 23 June; 28 July 2026; 25 Aug 2026
Evening Group: Baijesh Ramesh | For School Counsellors | 3rd Thursday of each month | SGT 7-8:30 pm
Dates: 19 Mar; 16 Apr; 21 May; 18 June; 16 July 2026 ; 13 August 2026
