Brief Strategic Family Therapy® Expanding in Europe

Focused on adolescent populations, the BSFT™ Program, developed by José Szapocznik, Ph.D., is a structured, problem-focused, directive, and practical approach effective in changing the family system in order to reduce the risk factors that contribute to substance abuse, violence, and other juvenile crime.

According to Joan Muir, Ph.D., Associate Director of the BSFT™ Institute, the Swedish connection began in 2007 while training therapists at Maria Ungdom (Maria Youth Centre) in Stockholm. Focused on evidenced base practices, Maria Ungdom stands as a national model for treatment to adolescents with substance abuse problems. In 2009 leaders from Maria Ungdom and the Miami BSFT™ Institute jointly presented the “Conference to Introduce Brief Strategic Family Therapy®” (Swedish article) at the prestigious Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm In March, 2011, Maria Ungdom’s Executive Director, Göran Hägglund and lead therapist Ann-Sofie (“Fia”) Larsson traveled to Linköping to present how the BSFT™ program “came to life” at their center. Social services officials and private providers heard how the BSFT™ model effectively engages and retains Swedish families, compelling for those struggling to reach youth and their families.

Senior BSFT™ Program Trainer Mónica Zárate, who is based in Miami, recently traveled to Linköping for the second time to deliver a BSFT™ workshop to BSFT™ trainees, who average an optimal five years out of their masters degrees in social work.  The program and related outreach are in the early stages, starting part-time with several families; the goal is to soon have full BSFT™ case loads, and to deliver office and home-based therapy. Zárate is excited to facilitate the former social workers and individual therapists’ evolution into BSFT™ family-focused professionals. She noted that troubled Swedish adolescents reflect universal issues such as substance usage, truancy, and family conflict. Unlike many American community clinics, the Linköping facility treats all levels of socioeconomic strata.

Brief Strategic Family Therapy® programs are expanding globally. Embracing the BSFT™ program, Maria Ungdom (Stockholm) officials are collaborating with the BSFT™ Institute (Miami), Springwell Centre in Northern Ireland and Mondriaan in the Netherlands to submit an application to the European Union for funding the BSFT™ evidence-based practice with a hub in Stockholm and radiating throughout Europe. Stay tuned for more international news!

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The BSFT™ Program is a short-term, structured, problem-focused, and practical approach to the treatment of conduct problems, associations with antisocial peers, early drug use and the accompanying maladaptive family interactions (relations), all of which are recognized risk factors for substance abuse. The BSFT™ Program is designed to engage and keep the family interested in the program by focusing on the problem behaviors of the at risk youth. The BSFT™ Program is delivered in 12 to 16 weekly sessions. The BSFT™ Program involves all family members and seeks to change the way they act toward each other. The BSFT™ Program provides families with the tools to overcome individual and family risk factors through: 1) focused sessions to improve maladaptive patterns of family interaction, and 2) skills building strategies to strengthen families. The BSFT™ Program was developed and has been conducted at the Center for Family Studies (Miami, FL) since 1972. The Center for Family Studies is America’s oldest and most prominent center for development and testing of minority family therapy interventions for prevention and treatment of adolescent substance abuse and related behavior problems. Originally developed for Hispanic families, the model has been adapted for use with other ethnic populations, including African American, German, and Swedish families. The BSFT™ program also has been widely used with Caucasian families; research is currently ongoing with this population.

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To learn more about Brief Strategic Family Therapy® or the NREPP review (www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=151), please contact: Brief Strategic Family Therapy® Institute, Center for Family Studies, University of Miami, 1425 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136 USA | (305) 243-7585 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)