The Professional Counselor | Volume 12, Issue 3 209 and “I find my work/school satisfying.” This contention became most apparent after the first treatment session when Joel continuously scored lower on a majority of symptom dimensions such as Symptom Distress, Interpersonal Relations, and Social Role Performance. Scores below the PND line were within a 41-point range. Trend analysis depicted a consistent level of improvement following the first treatment measure. This finding is corroborated by the associated Tau-U value (τU = −1.0), which suggested a very large degree of change in which the null hypothesis about intervention efficacy for Joel can be rejected (p = .004). An analysis of statistical process control charting revealed that eight data points in the treatment phase were beyond the realm of random occurrence with 99% confidence. This finding also corresponds with interpretation of the clinical significance estimate that 43.93% of improvement is slightly improved but not clinically significant (Lenz, 2020a, 2020b). Considering contextual evidence from the intervention as well as data visualization of Figure 2, it was clear that Joel experienced a downward trajectory in clinical symptoms. If he had received additional SFBT sessions, we suspect that he would have continued to experience a reduction in clinical symptoms. In the context of Joel’s treatment and a visual representation of his scores on the OQ-45.2 (see Figure 2), the SFBT intervention had a high level of convincingness, which means that a considerable amount of change in Hope occurred for Joel (Kendall et al., 1999; Lenz, 2021). Discussion The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the impact of SFBT on clinical symptoms and hope among Latine clients. The results yield promising findings and preliminary evidence about the efficacy of SFBT as an intervention for promoting positive change across two Latine clients’ clinical symptoms and hope. The scores varied for each outcome variable, and this is likely related to the length and duration of the intervention as well as each participant’s personal characteristics (Callender et al., 2021) and relationship to their counselor (Liu et al., 2020). Findings from the current study also lend further support regarding the efficacy among CITs who aim to impact clients’ psychological functioning at a community counseling training clinic. The findings for clinical symptoms showed a trend toward reduction in clinical symptoms across 8 weeks of SFBT. Both participants reported statistically significant improvements (p < .05) in reductions of clinical symptoms on the OQ-45.2. In both cases, the SFBT intervention was within the range of very large treatment effectiveness and clinical significance for improving symptoms of psychopathology. Results from the PND and PI confirmed that these participants experienced reduced clinical symptoms. It appears that there was a steady progression of improvement for these participants after their second treatment session. During this phase of treatment, Himmelberger used techniques such as exceptions to the problem and scaling questions to help participants recognize inner resources and personal strengths, analyze current levels of functioning, and visualize their preferred future (de Shazer, 1991). In review of counseling session recordings and in supervision, Himmelberger commented that both Joel and Mary provided feedback throughout SFBT that they appreciated the opportunity to focus on small successes, personal strengths, and exceptions to their problems, and the use of scaling questions to assess and track their progress. They also commented that they appreciated how they were able to conceptualize family as a source of strength and element of resiliency (J. Cavazos et al., 2010; Oliver et al., 2011). Researchers have found that using SFBT techniques such as miracle and exceptions questions can help clients reduce negative affect (Brogan et al., 2020; Neipp et al., 2021). Our findings also are like those of Schmit et al. (2016), who found that SFBT may be effective for treating symptoms of internalizing disorders, and Oliver et al. (2011), who commented that SFBT can help Mexican Americans cultivate familismo.
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