Steve de Shazer

Steve de Shazer (June 25, 1940, Milwaukee – September 11, 2005, Vienna) was a psychotherapist, author, and developer and pioneer of solution focused brief therapy. In 1978, he founded the Brief Family Therapy Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife Insoo Kim Berg.

He wrote six significant books, translated into 14 languages; wrote many papers; and lectured internationally.

De Shazer was originally trained as a classical musician and worked as a jazz saxophonist. He received a Bachelor in Fine Arts and an MSc in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He never studied at the Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto, California, even though some rumours has it he did. He was a lifelong friend of John Weakland though, and saw him as his mentor.