University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology 2015 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY (SFBT) WITH AT-RISK YOUTH IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT Martha C Hinchey University of Kentucky, martha.hinchey@gmail.com Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you Recommended Citation Hinchey, Martha C., "THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY (SFBT) WITH ATRISK YOUTH IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT" (2015) Theses and Dissertations-Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology 37 https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edp_etds/37 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology at UKnowledge It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above Martha C Hinchey, Student Dr H Thompson Prout, Major Professor Dr Kenneth Tyler, Director of Graduate Studies THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY (SFBT) WITH AT-RISK YOUTH IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT _ DISSERTATION _ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky By Martha Cord Hinchey Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr H Thompson Prout, Professor of School Psychology Lexington, Kentucky 2015 Copyright © Martha Cord Hinchey 2015 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOLUTION-FOCUSED BRIEF THERAPY (SFBT) WITH AT-RISK YOUTH IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT Research indicates the potential utility of schools as sites for service delivery of mental health interventions The application of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) within the school domain is reflected in the child psychotherapy literature Findings on the use of SFBT in school settings suggest that it may be well suited to school contexts given its time-efficient, goal-directed, and strengths-based behavioral approach The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of SFBT with at-risk youth in an alternative school setting The researcher utilized a multiple case study design to examine the impact of a 6-session SFBT intervention on adolescent behavioral outcomes Six students were randomized to one of three baseline conditions and received the SFBT intervention following baseline data collection Data were obtained from multiple raters at baseline, posttest, and 6-week follow-up In addition, students completed self-reported ratings at the beginning of each SFBT intervention session Data were evaluated using non-regression approaches and visual analyses Preliminary results indicated that four out of six students exhibited reliable change (6-point increase in post-ORS mean scores), and four out of the six students demonstrated clinically significant change (baseline ORS mean scores below the adolescent clinical cutoff of