Australasian Solution Focused Association

About ASFA

The home and peak professional body for Solution Focused practitioners, researchers, educators and learners across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

 
Our Community

Who We Are

The Australasian Solution Focused Association (ASFA) is the home and peak professional body for practitioners, researchers, educators, learners, and those interested in the Solution Focused Approach across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Founded in 2013, The ASFA brings people together to connect, learn, and grow within a vibrant, inclusive, and supportive professional community.

Members are united by a shared commitment to the Solution Focused Approach, rooted in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Together, the community is dedicated to supporting people to identify the outcomes they seek and build upon what is already working.

ASFA is a not-for-profit association incorporated under the NSW Associations Incorporation Act, with members across Australasia and around the world.

ABN: 91 248 414 759

 
Our History

Our Story

The ASFA began in 2013 as the Australasian Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association (ASFBTA), connecting and supporting practitioners throughout the region.

In 2020, the name changed to the Australasian Solution Focused Association (ASFA) to reflect the broader application of the Solution Focused Approach beyond therapy and counselling into coaching, education, healthcare, leadership, organisational development, justice, and community work.

Since then, the ASFA has grown into a vibrant, internationally connected community. We have hosted annual conferences bringing together practitioners from across the region and around the world, supported the publication of the Journal of Solution Focused Practices, and built a network of local affiliate groups that provide regular ongoing connection and professional development at a grassroots level.

Our aims

  • Promote, advocate for and develop evidence-based Solution Focused Practices across diverse fields in Australasia
  • Facilitate learning, collaboration and connection through online and in-person events, peer group supervision, meetings and conferences
  • Provide advisory and support services for members, groups and organisations engaged in Solution Focused Practices
  • Support high ethical and professional standards, fostering inclusion, respect and curiosity
  • Contribute to global knowledge by supporting the Journal of Solution Focused Practices
  • Collaborate with associations sharing similar aims
Read the Full ASFA Constitution →
 

Our Values

Community

We believe in the power of community. The ASFA is a place where all people at every stage of their Solution Focused journey are welcomed, valued, and supported. We create opportunities to connect, share, and grow together as a professional community.

Respect for People's Capacity

Everything we do is grounded in the belief that people - clients, members, and communities - have the capacity for change. We bring that belief to every interaction, trusting in people's strengths, resourcefulness, and ability to move towards what matters to them.

Reconciliation and Cultural Humility

We recognise the need for listening, healing, and reconciliation in the communities where we live and work. We approach this with cultural humility, committed to ongoing learning and a willingness to be guided by the people and communities we serve.

We welcome opportunities to partner with communities to support their best hopes, and to use our collective voice in support of authentic relationships and reconciliation. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we are committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In Australia, we recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Evidence and Advocacy

We are committed to growing the evidence base for the Solution Focused Approach and promoting its use across Australasia.

Generosity

ASFA is built on the generosity of its members, sharing knowledge, experience, and time in the spirit of growing something bigger than any one of us.

 
Governance

Our Board

Board is comprised of volunteer members elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Board provides governance and strategic direction for the Association, serving the interests of Australasian Solution Focused practitioners and researchers. The Board meets monthly and includes representation from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dion Sing
President
Dion has over a decade of experience applying the Solution Focused Approach across community services, leadership development, and organisational change, including extensive work with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. He is the author of The Solution Focused Supervision Handbook and has been a committed advocate for growing a thriving, inclusive Solution Focused community across Australasia.
Jason Pascoe
Vice President, Australia
Jason has over 20 years of experience in coaching, leadership development, and strategic facilitation, supporting professionals across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and internationally. He has a particular focus on embedding Solution Focused Practices in organisational and leadership contexts and has been an ASFA member since 2014.
Matt Cameron
Vice President, Aotearoa New Zealand
Matt is based in Timaru, Aotearoa New Zealand. He has wide experience applying the Solution Focused Approach in grief and loss, counselling, education, and pastoral care, and has been offering training workshops in the approach since 2020.
Susan Colmar
Secretary
Dr Susan Colmar is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist, and she is currently an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. Susan has written over 90 publications, has worked for 50 years as a psychologist, and has 25 years of experience training school counsellors and psychologists at the postgraduate level. Susan is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Solution Focused Practice.
John Penny
Treasurer
John has decades of experience in school counselling and behavioural programs, including senior leadership roles in education, and has been a long-standing supporter of ASFA.
Kylie Johnson
Board Member
Kylie is a long-term board member and works at the intersection of law and psychology, alongside training and consultancy work in Solution Focused Practices.
Jacqui Van de Velde
Board Member
Jacqui has over 30 years of experience across education, wellbeing, mental health, community engagement, veteran health and advocacy in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and internationally, and is a trainer, speaker, and advocate for professional learning and positive growth outcomes.
Cathy Martin
Board Member
Catherine (Cathy) Martin was a senior Social Work practitioner, team lead and educator for over 35 years across counselling, aged care, disability and tertiary healthcare sectors in Australia and overseas. Cathy contributed to development of a regional clinical ethics service and to the design and delivery of statewide patient/family transplant support programs and national transplant conferences. Cathy is internationally Solution Focused Practice (SFP) certified and has authored several publications, including most recently about SFP in healthcare. She is a longstanding member of ASFA, joining the ASFA Board in 2024.
Andrea Lemm
Board Member
Andrea is a social worker and child protection specialist based in Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, with over 20 years of experience in statutory child protection across England and Aotearoa New Zealand. She is passionate about bicultural practice and integrating the Solution Focused Approach with Māori practices and values and has been on the ASFA board since 2017.
Olwen Anderson
Board Member
Dr Olwen Anderson is a naturopath, rehabilitation counsellor and lecturer, based in northern New South Wales Australia. As a lecturer for Griffith University, Olwen teaches students in the School of Allied Health, Sport and Social Work, primarily in applied counselling skills and mental health practice. Olwen has also maintained a private practice as a naturopath since 2004.
Miriam Korman
Board Member
Miriam is a psychologist based in Northern New South Wales with a longstanding commitment to Solution Focused Practices, including involvement in European Brief Therapy Association conferences and the organisation of the ASFA 2026 annual conference on the Gold Coast.
Get In Touch

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you.

📧 admin@solutionfocused.org.au