The therapist-parent alliance in family-based therapy for adolescents

This article describes procedures for developing a therapeutic alliance with a parent within the context of family therapy for adolescents. After an overview of the general clinical model, specific themes and interventions are described that provide a map to facilitate this process. Following Bordin's (1979) model, alliance is conceptualized in three parts: bonds, goals, and tasks. The bond phase consists of the therapist showing empathy and understanding toward the parent and the parent developing empathy toward their own life struggles. The goal phase consists of defining parent-child relationship building as a primary focus of treatment. The task phase consists of preparing parents to better communicate with their adolescent. These phases can occur sequentially within a single session with a parent alone. The alliance building session sets the foundation for parent-adolescent conflict resolution leading to reattachment in future sessions.