Solution-focused brief therapy for Chilean primary care patients: Exploring a linguistic adaptation

Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a resource-based, future-oriented therapeutic approach that focuses on finding exceptions to problems and identifying coping strategies to build solutions. SFBT has been efficacious with individuals with alcohol use disorders. Chile experiences high levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health consequences. Despite the international dissemination of SFBT, this is the first study to attempt a linguistic adaptation of SFBT in a Latin American country. We conducted 9 cognitive interviews to examine 13 translated main SFBT tools and 3 focus groups to gather information on cultural aspects of alcohol use in primary care. Results suggest that Chileans understood most SFBT tools, albeit with some linguistic modifications of original translations, and that family, gender, and meaningful issues should be considered when working with individuals with alcohol use disorders.