Emotion Focused Family Therapy for Children's Mental Health Difficulties
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Overseen byKristel Thomassin, Ph.D
Age: < 18
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: University of Guelph
Disqualifiers: Severe mental health disorders, others
No Placebo Group
Approved in 3 Jurisdictions
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?This trial tests a program called Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) that helps parents support their children's emotional and behavioral development. It targets families with children needing emotional and behavioral support. The therapy aims to improve family relationships and maintain these improvements over time. Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) involves parents in their child's recovery from various mental health issues, including eating disorders.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial protocol does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. However, if you or your child are actively receiving intensive psychological intervention, you may not be eligible to participate.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Emotion Focused Family Therapy for children's mental health difficulties?
Research shows that Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) helps parents feel more confident and effective in supporting their children's mental health recovery. Studies found that EFFT reduces parents' emotional blocks and improves children's mental health symptoms, indicating its potential as a helpful treatment for various child mental health issues.
12345Is Emotion Focused Family Therapy safe for children and their families?
The available research on Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) does not report any specific safety concerns for children or their families. These therapies focus on improving emotional bonds and mental health, and studies have shown positive outcomes for both children and parents without mentioning any adverse effects.
23567How is Emotion Focused Family Therapy different from other treatments for children's mental health difficulties?
Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is unique because it focuses on strengthening emotional bonds within the family and improving parents' ability to support their children through emotional challenges. It includes techniques like play therapy for young children and a two-chair intervention to help parents recognize and change problematic parenting patterns, which is different from traditional talk therapies.
12368Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for parents of children aged 7 to 15 who are dealing with anxiety, depression, or behavioral issues. The child must live at home with the parent willing to participate in the therapy. It's not suitable for families where a parent or child has severe mental health disorders, language disabilities, or is already receiving intensive psychological intervention.Inclusion Criteria
Parent is living at home with the child
I am a parent of a child aged 7-15 with anxiety, depression, or behavioral issues.
I am willing to participate in the study with my child.
Exclusion Criteria
Parent or child not proficient enough in speaking/understanding English to complete measures or EFFT intervention components
Parent or child with a severe mental health disorder (e.g., active suicidality and psychosis) is not considered suitable for the trial intervention due to the clinical need for immediate intervention
Parent or child has any disabilities in language, speech or hearing that would interfere with their completion of the EFFT and measures
+2 more
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Treatment
Participants receive a 6-week group Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) program
6 weeks
Weekly group sessions
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for maintenance of treatment gains
4 months
In-lab assessment at 4 months
Participant Groups
The trial tests Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), which teaches parents skills to help their child develop emotional abilities and improve behavior. Parents will attend a group EFFT program for six weeks and results will be tracked up to four months after.
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: EFFT interventionExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Treatment (6-week group Emotion Focused Family Therapy) will be administered to participants in this arm.
Group II: Waitlist (delayed intervention)Active Control1 Intervention
No treatment will be administered to participants in this arm until after the 4-month follow-up in-lab assessment is completed.
Emotion Focused Family Therapy is already approved in Canada, United States, European Union for the following indications:
π¨π¦ Approved in Canada as Emotion-Focused Family Therapy for:
- Supporting children with mental health difficulties
- Improving family functioning
πΊπΈ Approved in United States as Emotion-Focused Family Therapy for:
- Supporting children with mental health difficulties
- Improving family functioning
πͺπΊ Approved in European Union as Emotion-Focused Family Therapy for:
- Supporting children with mental health difficulties
- Improving family functioning
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology, University of GuelphGuelph, Canada
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
University of GuelphLead Sponsor
References
Processes and outcomes of an emotion-focused family therapy two-chair intervention for transforming problematic parenting patterns. [2022]Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) is a therapy model which includes a two-chair intervention aimed at facilitating awareness and an interruption of problematic patterns of parenting as well as a reconnection to healthy caregiving instincts. The present study employed a task analysis to examine the process of this intervention with parents in a therapeutic setting and report on preliminary outcomes. Four trained EFFT therapists conducted chair work interventions with four parents (total of 16) and parents completed questionnaires directly following the intervention. Results indicated that most parents experienced significant emotional resolution of their love-based fears and an increase in confidence in supporting their children struggling with mental health issues. Use of the intervention in clinical settings is an effective and efficient way to support parents in responding to their children's mental health challenges.
Efficacy of Emotion-Focused Parenting Programs for Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Study. [2022]Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a 12-week parental program based on Emotion-Focused Therapy, developed to improve children and adolescents' mental health problems.
The effects of emotion-focused skills training on parental mental health, emotion regulation and self-efficacy: Mediating processes between parents and children. [2023]Objective: Emotion-Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a short-term parental intervention based on humanistic principles. While studies have demonstrated the efficacy of EFST in alleviating child mental health symptoms, the mechanisms by which this happens is less clear. The present study investigated whether program participation led to improvements in the parents' own mental health, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy, and compared two versions of EFST: one experiential involving evocative techniques, and one psychoeducational involving didactic teaching of skills. Further, this study investigated whether improvements in parent outcomes mediated the effects on children's mental health. All parents received 2-days group training and 6 h of individual supervision. Methods: 313 parents (Mage = 40.5, 75.1% mothers) of 236 children (ages 6-13, 60.6% boys) with mental health difficulties within the clinical range and their teachers (N = 113, 82% female) were included. Participants were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 4-, 8- and 12-months follow-up. Results: Multilevel analysis showed significant improvements over time on all parental outcomes with large effects (drange0.6-1.1, ps < .001), with fathers benefitting more in terms of emotion regulation and self-efficacy (ps < .05). Significant differences were found between conditions on parental mental health and self-efficacy (all p's > .05). Cross-lagged panel models showed indirect effects of child symptoms at post-intervention on all parental outcomes at 12-months follow-up (βrange0.30-0.59, ps < .05). Bidirectional associations were observed between children's mental health symptoms and parental self-efficacy (βrange0.13-0.30, ps < .05). Conclusion: This study provides support for the effect of EFST on parent outcomes and the reciprocal relationship between the mental health of children's and their parents.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03807336.
Brief Emotion Focused Family Therapy: An Intervention for Parents of Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Issues. [2020]This study evaluated the 2-day intensive modality of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). The intervention attempts to prepare parents to take a primary role in their child's recovery from a range of mental health issues. One hundred and twenty-four parents completed the intervention and provided data a week prior to intervention, post-intervention and at 4-month follow-up. Results include significantly reduced parent blocks and increased parental self-efficacy in relation to involvement in their child's recovery, as well as significant improvement in child symptomatology. The findings confirm positive results from an earlier pilot study involving eating disorders and demonstrate the potential for EFFT as an intervention for a range of clinical problems in children and youth.
Parenthood-Lost and Found: Exploring Parents' Experiences of Receiving a Program in Emotion Focused Skills Training. [2022]Parents play a crucial role in the development, maintenance, and deterioration of child difficulties. Emotion focused skills training (EFST) targets parents' capacity to provide their child with emotion-oriented skills in order to promote good child mental health. Few qualitative studies have specifically investigated parents' experiences of receiving such programs.
Harnessing the Power of Play in Emotionally Focused Family Therapy With Preschool Children. [2017]Emotionally focused family therapy (EFFT) is an attachment-based therapy model that has been used with older children and adolescents. More recently, it has been suggested for use with young children. EFFT holds promise as a clinical treatment for young children coping with attachment problems, but more detailed guidelines are needed for implementing the model with this age-group. Whereas preschool and kindergarten age children are less able to participate in talk therapy than older children, accommodations need to be made to this approach when the identified patient is a young child. This article offers a variety of play therapy activities that may be incorporated within an EFFT framework to strengthen the emotional bonds in families with children ages four to six.
Emotionally focused marital intervention for couples with chronically ill children. [2019]Couples with chronically ill children are at risk for experiencing marital stress. The present study was a randomized control trial that assessed the efficacy of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) in decreasing marital distress in this population of couples. Thirty-two couples with chronically ill children seen at a tertiary care pediatric hospital were randomly assigned to EFT or to a waitlist control group. EFT couples demonstrated significant decreases in marital distress at posttreatment and at a 5-month follow-up in comparison to controls. Clinical improvements in marital functioning following EFT were also demonstrated.
Emotion-focused parenting interventions for prevention and treatment of child and adolescent mental health problems: a review of recent literature. [2021]To review recent studies on emotion-focused parenting interventions to provide clinicians with knowledge about how these approaches might be used in prevention and treatment of mental health difficulties for children, adolescents and their families.