Author: Sstephan

Family Focus

What are you doing to connect families with support and resources in their neighborhood and community?

Research corner

Practical applications

What the research says about connecting families with local support and resources:
When compared to individual therapy, interventions involving family support showed greater reduction in child behavior problems. (Meezan, 1998)
Families connected to at least one local resource are more likely to continue mental health services than those who are not. (McKay et al., 2002)
Families connected to at least one local resource are likely to attend more mental health sessions that those who are not. (McKay et al., 2002)

Helpful hints

Know what works in your community. If there is a club or organization that has a long-standing history of youth and family involvement, begin cultivating contacts with key personnel that may support your client’s particular treatment goals.
Think of support in terms of access and affordability. Don’t direct families to programs and activities they cannot afford. Take the time to find activities and programs that are actually accessible and meaningful.
Serve as a point-of-contact for clients interested in joining different social groups. Try to provide the student with up-to-date, detailed information about local organizations and programs.

Questions to ponder

How many of your families are connected to organizations/programs in their community?
Do you integrate some of these supports into your case conceptualization and treatment planning?
Do you have a good sense of the availability of organizations/programs (e.g., athletics, arts/culture/religion, intellectual, support groups, services, etc.) within your community and how to best access these supports?

What the research means in terms of your practice with children and adolescents:
Families involved in successful treatment processes can support other families. Consider having caregivers advocate for families new to treatment.
Create and share a community resource list with families. Provide practical information about who is eligible to participate and how to access programs.
Design treatment plans with adjunctive, community supports in mind. Rely on local organizations (i.e., sports leagues, scouts, youth groups, etc.) to reinforce and further generalize treatment goals.

Family Focus

What are you doing to connect families
with state and federal resources?

Research corner

Practical applications

What the research says about support for families:
Families who received a support intervention reported higher levels of maternal self-support and better child school attendance than control group (Seitz, Rosenbaum, & Apfel, 1985).
In a national survey of parents of children with an emotional or behavioral disorder, 72 percent of respondents indicated that emotional support (irrespective of its form) was the most helpful aspect of family support services (Friesen, 1990).
Linkage of effective family-based interventions to delivery of evidence-based services is likely to amplify the impact of those services and improve outcomes for youth and families (Hoagwood, 2005).

What the research means in terms of your practice with children and adolescents:
Learn about available support services that can assist families of children with mental health concerns (See attached handout)
Maintain a list of family-to-family support groups that are available in your community. Keep track of key contact people and the process of how to connect families to the groups or programs.
State and national mental health related groups often have excellent materials developed specifically for families. Have copies of their fact sheets readily available in your office.

Helpful hints

Draw on family strengths when referring clients to state and national resources. If a family displays a strong commitment to their ethnic heritage, try to select support services that reflect the values embedded in their culture.
Meet the family where they are “right now” by drawing on relevant support services. If a family is in a crisis situation (i.e., drug addiction, attempted suicide, abuse), refer them to more immediate and crisis oriented support services.
Maintain a log of key contacts from different state and national organizations for future use. Take the time to find free resources and programs with toll free numbers that can be accessed.

Questions to ponder

How do you connect families to organizations and programs at the state and national level? Does your school mental health program or wellness center maintain an updated list of available support services?
Do you integrate these supports into your case conceptualization and treatment planning?
Are you aware of support groups or organizations that specifically address mental health from a specific cultural/ethnic perspective?