Lange, Aurelie M. C., Humayun, Sajid ORCID: 0000-0003-3849-1629 and Jefford, Tom (2022) The feasibility of providing remote functional family therapy with adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Child & Youth Care Forum, 52. pp. 441-466. ISSN 1053-1890 (Print), 1573-3319 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09692-y)

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Abstract

Background: Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, mental health care has largely transferred its services to online platforms, using videoconferencing (VC) or teletherapy. Within the field of family therapy, however, there is little evidence on the feasibility of using VC, especially when working with whole families at the edge of care. Objective: This study investigated the feasibility of remote Functional Family Therapy (FFT), using a mixed-method approach. Methods: Study 1 consisted of semi- structured interviews with 23 FFT professionals (18 female) about their experience of providing remote FFT during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 2 included monitoring data of 209 FFT clients (46% female, M age = 14.00) who participated in FFT during the pandemic. We compared families who received mainly in-person, mainly remote or a mix of remote and in-person on client-reported alliance, drop-out, therapist-rated outcomes, and treatment intensity using MANCOVA’s and chi-square tests. Results: In Study 1 two themes emerged around experienced challenges, namely ‘Feeling in control’ and ‘Engagement and alliance’. Two other themes emerged around adaptations, namely ‘Being more on top’ and ‘Connecting in different ways’. In Study 2, we found that the therapeutic alliance was not related to using VC. Also, families had less between-session contact during the Engagement and Motivation Phase when receiving mainly VC, but had more sessions and longer therapy when receiving a mix of in-person and remote therapy. Conclusions. The current study suggests that providing systemic family teletherapy to families on the edge of care is feasible. Further development of systemic family teletherapy is warranted.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	videoconferencing; systemic therapy; covid-19; feasibility; mixed-method
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > Institute for Lifecourse Development > Centre for Vulnerable Children and Families Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	11 Jul 2023 15:51
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/35916

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