Critique of Manualized Therapies: Systemic Family Therapy Manual for Adolescent Self-Harm

Abstract

The ‘Systemic Family Therapy Manual for Adolescent Self-Harm’ (SHIFT) (Boston et al. 2009) has recently been evaluated and it was found that the intervention offered no clinical or cost benefits over treatment as usual in reducing subsequent hospital attendance or repetition of self-harm (Cottrell et al. 2018). This paper critiques the concept of systemic psychotherapy manuals, with particular reference to the SHIFT manual.