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Family Therapy for Adolescents: A Research‐informed Perspective

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy

Published online on

Abstract

Specific research‐informed models of family therapy have been developed for a range of adolescent problems. These include Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT), Functional Family Therapy (FFT), Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT), and Multidimensional Treatment Foster care (MTFC) for conduct disorder and drug misuse; family‐focused cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety disorders and depression; Attachment‐based Family Therapy (ABFT) for depression; family‐focused therapy as an adjunct to pharmacological therapy for bipolar disorder; ABFT, youth‐nominated support team, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) combined with Multifamily Therapy for self‐harm; the Maudsley model of family therapy for eating disorders; and psychoeducational family theory for psychosis. All of these approaches aim to reduce individual and familial risk factors which exacerbate adolescent problems, and enhance protective factors which promote resilience and recovery from psychological difficulties.