A Brief, Informal History of SFBT as Told by Steve De Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg

Abstract

This account of the origins and development of SFBT is not based on a rigorous historical analysis of key events, recovered unpublished documents, or the formal writings of de Shazer, Berg, and their colleagues at the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC). Rather, it is taken from the author’s records of two experiences he had with de Shazer and Berg: 1) notes from a lecture de Shazer gave about the history of SFBT just one month before his death, and 2) a recorded interview with Berg in 1998 about the origins of BFTC and SF techniques. The article concludes with a few reflections by the author.