When the therapist and the client focus on finding solutions instead of problems, therapy inevitably becomes brief—sometimes just one session. Impressive cases, often with unexpected turns, illustrate this practical theory of brief therapy, covering a wide range of complaints. Some of these, such as drug addiction or severe marital dysfunctions, were previously considered "too difficult" for brief therapy. However, as de Shazer repeatedly shows, once the therapist and the client jointly discover "what works," the barriers on the path to solutions disappear. An innovation is de Shazer's computational analysis of therapy sessions, which provides a roadmap for analyzing situations and finding solutions. Sections of the computational program are highlighted with individual cases, allowing the reader to easily move from the map to the terrain and back. Both theoretically interesting and clinically reliable, de Shazer's investigations highlight elements with the potential to revolutionize the way psychotherapy is thought about and practiced.