Abstract
The Flemish Child Welfare System (CWS) is in great need of a shared empirically informed clinical strategy for working with depressed adolescents and their families. Many evidence-based practices (EBP) exist, but little is known as to whether they can be successfully imported in the CWS. Therefore, the current study explores the implementation of a particular EBP, Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT), in home-based services of the Flemish CWS in Belgium. Specifically, the study focused on (1) the acceptability of ABFT by counselors and whether negative attitudes about EBP can be changed (n = 73 counselors), and (2) the feasibility of implementing ABFT (n = 43 adolescents, 11–17 years old, 72% female) by exploring initial effectiveness. The results suggest that (1) initial negative attitudes of counselors towards ABFT were significantly more positive after attending training and discussions about ABFT, and that (2) ABFT could be used by counselors to successfully reduce adolescent depressive symptoms. Future research should include a control group to draw stronger causal conclusions. Strengths and limitations of the study’s design and implications for further dissemination are discussed.
Highlights
The Child Welfare System (CWS) is a section in governments that seeks to ensure the health and safety of children
Home-based services have developed an eclectic treatment approach consisting of a mixture of therapeutic techniques from different theoretical orientations (Stroobants, Vanderfaeillie, & Andries, 2014). This “Treatment as Usual” (TAU) approach demonstrates the creativity, commitment and investment of these services, there is a great concern about its limited effectiveness (Weiss, Catron, & Harris, 2000; Weiss, Catron, Harris, & Phung, 1999; Weisz et al, 2013; Weisz, Jensen-Doss, & Hawley, 2006)
Research question 1: Does acceptability of evidence-based practices (EBP), i.e. AttachmentBased Family Therapy (ABFT), amongst CWS counselors increase after attending the introductory workshop? Participants
Summary
The Child Welfare System (CWS) is a section in governments that seeks to ensure the health and safety of children. Home-based services have developed an eclectic treatment approach consisting of a mixture of therapeutic techniques from different theoretical orientations (Stroobants, Vanderfaeillie, & Andries, 2014) This “Treatment as Usual” (TAU) approach (i.e. usual clinical care consisting of a broad assortment of interventions that are typically not guided by one particular theoretical orientation and not necessarily supported by empirical evidence) demonstrates the creativity, commitment and investment of these services, there is a great concern about its limited effectiveness (Weiss, Catron, & Harris, 2000; Weiss, Catron, Harris, & Phung, 1999; Weisz et al, 2013; Weisz, Jensen-Doss, & Hawley, 2006). It seems reasonable to assume that home-based services of the Flemish CWS could benefit from a more systematic treatment approach that offers a shared framework to increase home-based counselors’ intentionality to get to core issues more quickly and effectively
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