Family functioning following a brief, virtual emotion-focused family therapy intervention for children's mental...

Brief emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) interventions have demonstrated numerous positive outcomes across the domains of child mental health and parent psychosocial well-being. However, there is limited research examining interpersonal processes at the family-level of analysis following 2-day EFFT programs.

This study explored family functioning in the year following a virtual, parent-focused EFFT intervention (n = 159 caregivers, representing 124 families and 264 children). Caregivers completed the General Functioning subscale of the Family Assessment Device at 6 timepoints from baseline to 12-month post-intervention. Multilevel modeling was used to complete growth curve analysis, exploring post-intervention changes in family functioning over time. This allowed for the exploration of between versus within family differences pre- to post-intervention in the study sample.

Variance in family functioning was attributable to stable differences between caregivers (level 2; 59%) and change over time (level 1; 41%), including measurement error. Growth curve analysis identified positive changes in family functioning post-intervention, with a cubic trajectory of improvement. Higher COVID-19 disruption, caregiver psychological distress, and parenting stress significantly predicted lower baseline family functioning, but did not significantly interact with change over time.

These results suggest that there is a general pattern of non-linear change following EFFT workshops, specifically relating to family interpersonal dynamics. Overall, the study findings expand the evidence base for this promising, brief, relational intervention, now available in virtual formats, thereby increasing access for busy families.