1. Looking for previous solutions - clients often have solved similar issues or have ideas about the current issue. Questions such as, "Has this ever been less of a problem?" or "What have you done that helped?" elicit strengths and ideas on which to build.

2. Looking for exceptions - when evaluating the problem, there may not be previous solutions that have worked, but there may be an event or moment in which the issue was less of an issue. This technique seeks to find strengths and alternative experiences to build upon.

3. Present and future (focus questions vs. past orientation focus) - brief therapy maintains a future focus, always leading the client to the present moment and the future, remaining in the solution, and moving toward success, such as asking, "What will you do this week that will demonstrate you are making progress?"

4. Compliments - an essential part of this therapeutic style is seeking to validate clients for what they are already doing well and to reinforce what the client is doing that is working. Compliments may come in the form of a question such as asking how the client did something, thereby inviting the client to provide the compliment by answering the question.

5. Invite the client to do more of what is working - the therapist builds upon the client's strengths and invites the client to engage in more of what has previously worked, or encourages the client to try something the client has raised as a consideration, sometimes referred to as "as experiment".

6. Miracle question - this is a specific question designed to generate the initial steps of solutions - ones that can be acted upon in short order, perhaps the next day. The question proposes that a miracle occurs while the client sleeps, no one knows the miracle has occurred, the miracle is that the client's problem is solved, and the client is to consider the initial signs indicating that they would know the miracle occurred.

7. Scaling questions - a scaling question assists the client in assessing his/or her situation and tracks progress, asking how a client rates an item based on a scale (i.e. 1 to 10). It can also assist with clients who struggle with verbal skills. Any number of items can be measured, such as motivation, hopefulness, confidence, progress, anxiety, and depression.

8. Coping questions - these are questions that serve as powerful reminders of how the client engages useful skills and tools, even when overwhelmed. Example: "How have you managed through this time?" This is an alternative means of accessing the client's resiliency and level of determination.