The quantum-mechanical ground-state problem for three identical particles bound by attractive inter-particle potentials is discussed. For this problem it has previously been shown that it is advantageous to write the wave function in a special functional form, form which an integral equation which is equivalent to the Schrodinger equation was derived. In this paper a new method for solving this equation is presented. The method involves an expansion of a two-body problem with a potential of the same shape as the inter-particle potential in the three-body problem, but of enhanced strength.