Menu
Brief Strategic Family Therapy® (BSFT®) is a culturally-competent, strength-based intervention for children and adolescents ages 6 to 18 years, who exhibit behavior problems such as substance abuse, associations with antisocial peers, bullying, truancy, and other recognized youth risk factors. At the same time, BSFT works to improve family functioning, increase effective parenting, and improve communication.
The goal is to reduce or eliminate behavior problems by improving family interactions that are presumed to be directly related to the child’s symptoms, thus reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors for adolescent conduct problems. The therapy targets the particular problem interactions and behaviors in each client family.
BSFT was developed by Olga Hervis and Jose Szapocznik at the University of Miami in the 1970’s. Hervis is the Executive Director and Lead Master Trainer of the Family Therapy Training Institute of Miami (FTTIM) for the dissemination of BSFT® training programs.
Brief Strategic Family Therapy® successfully integrates with other models such as Motivational Interviewing, TF-CBT, 7 Challenges and CBT (part of the model draws heavily from Cognitive Behavioral Theory). In fact, BSFT® works well with any model that does not conflict theoretically from a paradigm perspective.
Organizations implementing BSFT are encouraged to gather common outcome measures as well as any locally-relevant or required data. Four easy-to-use measures include:
Additionally, our Institute can provide training in the following tool: https://brief-strategic-family-therapy.com/other-training-programs/
Structural Family Systems Rating -Hervis, O.E., Szapocznik, J., Mitrani, V., Rio, A. & Kurtines, W. (1998). Structural Family Systems Ratings Scale. In J. Touliatos (Ed.) Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques (2nd edition), New York: Microfiche Publications.
In the child:
In the family:
Clinician/therapist
BSFT® full training to competency is needed to practice Brief Strategic Family Therapy. Therapists should be committed and enthusiastic, familiar with family systems approaches, and have an ease in working with all family members. They should also have a willingness to work evenings and Saturdays when families are available.
The ideal candidate has a Master’s degree in mental health, social work, or marriage and family therapy. However, individuals with a Master’s degree in a related field, or a Bachelor’s degree plus 3 years of clinical experience may be qualified. At minimum, individuals must have basic knowledge of how family systems operate.
Administrative Support
Agency must be open at times that are convenient to families, and provide transportation, and childcare when needed, for sessions that are conducted in the office. Two hours per week must be provided for BSFT therapists to review as a group their videotapes of family sessions in order to study and discuss them.
Rooms, equipment and supplies
Videotaping equipment, monitor and VCR are needed for supervision and review of the work. Mid-size offices are adequate for videotaping families. However, videotaping can also be done in the families’ homes.
To the extent that your state’s Medicaid pays for any out-patient mental health services, then BSFT will be covered in the same manner. Please be attentive to your state’s Medicaid provisions as they vary from state to state.
The BSFT® model uses these interventions:
BSFT therapists can conduct group therapy. BUT, the BSFT family and kids cannot be a part of those groups. Here’s why.
Although families may present with similar ” issues”, these issues are of a content nature (e.g. symptoms, history, experiences both good and bad, goals and so forth). BSFT, as well as all Systemic therapies, base their work on identifying and correcting processes that result in malfunctioning. These particular combinations of interrelated processes are totally idiosyncratic to each family. Here is a simple example, 3 families may have in common that their child refuses to go to school. In family A, this is related to Dad not being involved with the kids and constantly fights with Mom. In family B, the truancy occurs in the context of parents that lack effective guidance, leadership and nurturance. While in family C, the dysfunctional process may be that Mom and child have an enmeshed relationship and the child has assumed adult roles and responsibilities.
As you can see the content issue is the same but the functioning and dysfunctional processes of the family are very different.
One full-time therapist can provide the BSFT intervention to 15-20 families, if conducted in the office, or 10-12 families if conducted at the home, clinic, or other location outside the office. On the average, a BSFT therapist can typically treat 36 – 40 families to completion within one year.
Trainees should begin seeing families as soon as training begins, and certainly must during the Supervision practicum. We recommend at least 3-5 families to begin for a part-time clinician, and 5-7 for full-time clinicians. But the clinicians can build up their caseloads beyond that whenever they and their supervisors feel they are ready and as their schedules permit.
Seeing (and videotaping) families is essential for the Supervision practicum of the training program.