Insoo Kim Berg, MSSW (1934-2007), was co-founder and director of the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, WI. She developed the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) model with her partner, Steve de Shazer and other colleagues at the Center. A native of Korea, Insoo balanced her heritage with Western scientific training in her clinical practice and teaching.

Berg served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Family Psychology and Counseling Series, Families in Society, and Family Process. She was a founder of the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association, clinical member and approved supervisor for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and was also active in the Wisconsin Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the National Association of Social Workers, and the European Brief Therapy Association. She was a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and regularly conducted seminars and workshops on SFBT throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe.

Insoo Berg Obituary

Berg, Insoo Kim Of Wauwatosa, passed away peacefully on Jan. 10, 2007. She was 72 years old. Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Insoo attended Ewha Women’s University prior to coming to the United States in 1957. Abandoning her studies in pharmacy as a major in Korea, Insoo elected to dedicate her career learning about family and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work at UWM. Additionally, she completed post graduate studies at the Family Institute of Chicago, the Menninger Foundation in Kansas, and the Mental Research Institute in California. Insoo was, along with her late husband Steve de Shazer, the primary developer of the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) model and together they founded the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee in 1982. A prolific writer she authored numerous articles clarifying the SFBT approach, and 10 ground breaking books elucidating its application to a wide variety of clinical, school and social service settings. Her books, which have been translated into many languages, include Interviewing for Solutions, Tales of Solution, Family Based Services, Problem Drinker, and most recently, More than Miracles (currently in press). She is, however, best known as a globe-trotting trainer who traveled to many corners of the world and in US to teach, train and consult with other professionals. She is remembered by many of her colleagues worldwide as passionate, inspiring, witty, humble and generous. Often teased as the “hardest working” woman alive, Insoo loved the funny pages, the New York Times, Mozart piano concertos, jokes with one short punch line, long walks, and red wine. She is survived by daughter Sarah and her partner Amy Underberg, sister CJ Kim and her husband Marshall Perlman in Milwaukee; brothers Haksoo, Taiksoo and Hunsoo Kim and their wives and children in Korea. Insoo was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Steve de Shazer. Her family sends their special thanks to the staff at Wisconsin Athletic Club in Wauwatosa for their respectful attention to her on the day she died. Private services and internment to be held. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Steve de Shazer Research Fund, c/o Greater Milwaukee Foundation are appreciated.

Published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Jan. 21, 2007.