Brief solution-focused counseling: a practical effective strategy for dealing with wait lists in community-based mental health services.

Community-based mental health services are increasingly challenged by waiting lists for individual counseling. A strengths-based, brief solution-focused counseling (BSFC) model was used to increase the number of clients served while maintaining high-quality services. Clients who participated in BSFC experienced both shorter wait times than did clients referred to non-time-limited counseling at the same agency and a higher rate of service completion. In addition, clients reported improvement and showed a significant reduction in symptoms between their first and fourth counseling sessions. Clients attending only one session reported the lowest initial levels of symptom distress. Results support the continued exploration of the BSFC model along with the use of standardized evaluative tools.