A closer examination of the empirical support for claims about the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: Stalker et al. respond to Gingerich

In a critique of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), Stalker ct al. (199 9) emphasized the lack of empirical evidence to support claims of the model 's superior effectiveness relative to other treatment models. In a letter t o the editor, Ginger ich challenged this conclusion. He alluded to 14 contr olled outcome studies in the literature that provided support for the effec tiveness of the model. In this reply to Gingerich, the issue of the empiric al base for claims about the effectiveness of SFBT is revisited and it is a rgued that there is no basis to alter the conclusions reached in Stalker et al. (1999).