de Shazer, Steve, and Insoo Kim Berg

Steve de Shazer (1940–2005) and his wife and colleague, Insoo Kim Berg (1934–2007), developed the therapeutic approach known as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). de Shazer referred to Berg as a gifted clinician and stated that his life work was spent attempting to document what Berg was doing during client sessions that was instrumental in assisting in client change. Berg in turn referred to de Shazer as a “creative genius” and greatly admired his way of viewing clients and the change process. Their reciprocal admiration energized their work as well as demonstrated to solution-focused professionals that the SFBT model could be effectively used by a wide range of professionals who embodied different personality characteristics.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, de Shazer was the son of an ...