Caregiver maltreatment history and treatment response following an intensive Emotion Focused Family Therapy workshop.

Abstract

This single-arm, repeated measures study investigated the impact caregiver trauma history may have on treatment response following an intensive, 2-day Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) caregiver workshop. Caregivers (n = 243) completed questionnaires regarding their child's emotion regulation and clinical symptoms, as well as their own childhood trauma history (i.e., exposure to various forms of child maltreatment), caregiver self-efficacy and caregiver blocks (e.g., fears) to support their child's treatment and recovery. Questionnaires were administered prior to and immediately following the workshop and again 4, 8 and 12 months later. At baseline, caregivers who reported experiences of childhood maltreatment demonstrated more blocks compared with caregivers who did not (B = 6.35, SE = 2.62, p < 0.05). Results indicated that caregivers with and without maltreatment histories reported similar, significant gains in their child's total difficulties (B = 0.64, SE =0.41, p = 0.12) and emotional negativity and lability (B = 0.51, SE =0.48, p = 0.29) at 12-month post-workshop. Caregivers with maltreatment histories reported greater improvements in caregiver blocks (B = 5.15, SE =1.34, p < 0.001) and child emotion regulation (B = 0.90, SE =0.18, p < 0.001) than caregivers without maltreatment histories. They also report less, but still significant, improvement in parental self-efficacy (B = -0.68, SE =0.26, p < 0.01) when compared with caregivers without maltreatment histories. Findings suggest that EFFT workshops may be an acceptable and effective trans-diagnostic intervention for families presenting with complex histories, including caregiver exposure to childhood maltreatment.