Stance of Hope

"Solution Focused Brief Therapy is not simply a collection of techniques.

It's an understanding of the impact of hope and then deploying hope through questions".

Elliott Connie

As therapists, we’re often invited to sit with life’s heaviest stories — the hurts, the losses, the moments when hope feels out of reach. We bear witness to the problems people face and the weight people carry.  And sometimes, these heavy stories can cloud not only a client’s perspective but also the therapist’s sense of what options and ways forward might be possible.  How do we manage this for ourselves and so that we can be of service to our clients?

What keeps me turning up, fully present, is HOPE. Hope that healing is possible. Hope that meaning can be found, even in hardship. Hope that pain doesn’t have the final word — that change and growth are always possible.

Through my work over the years, I have noticed that hope isn’t just saying “You’ve got this!”, positive catch phrases, and cheerful words. While encouragement has its place, hope runs deeper. It’s an essence you carry into the room — a steady, quiet belief in your client’s capacity for change, even when they can’t see it yet. Hope is a stance you walk in with.

My work with Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) has shaped how I understand and practice this stance. SFBT positions hope as a key driver for the therapist and client to remain empowered and focused towards a future desired outcome. This stance of hope is not a background mindset; it is an active, intentional therapeutic tool.

Blatchley (2025) consolidates historical and modern theorists’ descriptions of hope

is a belief that:

1.    The future can be better than the present (optimism) and,

2.    The belief that we have the capacity or the ability to make that better future happen.

This definition mirrors what I know to be true: hope is both possibility and action.

Here is how I see hope show up in my practice:

• A stance of hope can shift the entire trajectory of therapy. Therapeutic outcome research highlights hope as a common factor impacting clients’ therapeutic change (Lambert, 1992).  Hope reassures clients that they are not defined by their present struggles, and it keeps the door to possibility wide open.

• Hope can be quiet and humble. It doesn’t need to be glary and showy.

• Showing up with hope isn’t always easy, but it is always possible. 

• When you believe in your clients’ futures — before they can see them — we’re not just offering therapy. We’re offering hope that will long outlast our hour session.

• Hope sustains me as a therapist, protecting against burnout and anchoring me when anxiety or hopelessness tries to creep in.

• When hope is present, cognitions change. Hope has a growing theoretical basis that is demonstrating the impact of hope as a cognitive process that impacts our brain activity and has an impact on brain health (Dasgupta et. al., 2023).

Practical tips from my learnings on the Stance of Hope:

A starting point for hope is to look for small changes and micro-moments of progress, even when the big picture feels stuck and heavy. These glimmers of change are either quietly noted or, at other times, amplified and highlighted to help progress grow and thicken as a plot line.

To find these small moments, the way we listen to stories is important. SFBT therapist, Elliott Connie, notes that finding hope starts by listening to the story: “There is no way to be impressed by the hero unless we hear the problem they got through......The tragedy story, the trauma story and the hero story are the exact same story it just depends on how you listen”.

When working in intensive mental health teams, I noticed hope is first seen when staying with the client through challenges -  showing perseverance and commitment, even when progress feels slow. Not backing away when things get hard. When setbacks happen, I frame them as steps in a longer journey, reinforcing that change isn’t linear — and that it’s still happening.

Language is powerful, and I notice the impact of my words. I speak about the future as if it already exists — “When you start feeling more confident…” rather than “If you ever feel confident.” Using words like yet and when, not if. Give this a go next time you are saying a phrase about the future.

Regulation is key — the therapist’s as well as the client’s. When clients share their pain, I stay steady. My calm presence says, “This pain is real, and it is survivable”. I keep clear lines of responsibility in sessions; with my responsibility being to allow moments of silence without panicking or rushing to fill them. This space gives clients room to find their own words and their own path forward. Hidden within their own resources is the hope that things can be different outside the therapy room. Allowing space for a client’s resources means that you deeply believe in their capabilities, even when they struggle to believe it themselves.

Holding a stance of hope isn’t always easy. Burnout can dim our perspective, especially if we’re surrounded by stories of hopelessness. A strong problem focus — in ourselves, in our workplace culture, or in the systems we work within — can slowly edge out curiosity about possibilities.

We can lose sight of hope if we stop listening deeply, if we forget to look for glimmers of strength and resourcefulness. And sometimes, in trying to hold on to hope, we risk swinging too far the other way — becoming overly “cheerleading” or optimistic in a way that misses empathy for the client’s current pain. Maintaining a hopeful stance is about balance: recognising difficulty without being swallowed by it and holding belief in the future without forcing it.

Finding hope-opportunities is important. Noticing when you feel wobbly with hope, and pivoting to be more curious about how a person is surviving their problems and pain, rather than being swamped by the problems that are presented. What can I let go through to the keeper? What do I want to catch?

Reflection on your own Stance of Hope:

• Notice when hope shows up (and doesn’t show up) in the way you are thinking about clients and problems.

• In conversations, do you catch the small glimmers of change and hope? What helps you catch these? How can you do more of this?

• When listening – what are you listening for? The hero or the trauma story?

• Notice your language – is your language hopeful? Do your words need a tweak from if to when?

• Reflect on how you hold hope in the way you experience life - how do you show up intentionally with a stance of hope?

Hope sits as an active, intentional therapeutic tool that enhances change. This stance shows up in how we listen, the words we choose, the steadiness we bring, and the space we create for our clients’ own strengths. When we show up with hope, we make a difference.

How will you show up with hope today?

 Authored by:

Laura Hawkins

Mental Health Occupational Therapist and Clinical Family Therapist

Lead Teaching Associate, Phoenix Family Therapy Academy

www.laurahawkins.com.au

Please note - this article is educational in nature and does not constitute therapy advice. 

Please seek help from a professional if you require support. 

References:

Blatchley, B. (2025). The Hopeful Brain: Exploring research into the brain’s hope circuits. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-are-the-chances/202506/the-hopeful-brain

Dasgupta, J., Furlano, J. A., Bandler, Z., Fittipaldi, S., Canty, A. J., Yasoda-Mohan, A., El-Jaafary, S. I., Ucheagwu, V., McGettrick, G., de la Cruz-Góngora, V., Nguyen, K. H., Lawlor, B., & Nogueira Haas, A. (2023). Hope for brain health: impacting the life course and society. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1214014. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1214014

Elliott Connie - https://elliottconnie.com/

Lambert, M.J. (1992). Implications of outcome research for psychotherapy integration. In J. C. Norcross & M.R. Goldstein (Eds.). Handbook of Psychotherapy Integration (pp. 94-129). New York: Basic Books.

Photo Attributions:

All photos from Canva Pro, excluding "Possible" which is from towfiqu-barbhuiya-Jxi526YIQgA-unsplash