Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being
Type of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
Target Population: Adolescents 11 to 18 with the following symptoms or problems: substance abuse or at risk, delinquent/conduct disorder, school and other behavioral problems, and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
MDFT is a family-based treatment system for adolescent substance use, delinquency, and related behavioral and emotional problems. Therapists work simultaneously in four interdependent domains: the adolescent, parent, family, and extra-familial. Once a therapeutic alliance is established and youth and parent motivation is enhanced, the MDFT therapist focuses on facilitating behavioral and interactional change. In the adolescent domain, adolescents are helped to develop coping, emotion regulation, and problem solving skills; improve social competence; and establish alternatives to substance use and delinquency. In the parent domain, the focus is on enhancing parental teamwork and improving parenting practices. Decreasing family conflict, deepening emotional attachments, and improving family communication and problem solving skills are the key goals within the family domain. In the extrafamilial domain, MDFT fosters family competency in interactions with social systems (e.g., justice, educational, social welfare). The final stage of MDFT works to solidify behavioral and relational changes and launch the family successfully so that treatment gains are maintained.