The Family Project Approach

The Family Project Approach (FPA) has been developed as an alternative to the placement of conduct-disordered adolescents into care. Since 1987, the target group of this project has been extended to include maltreated children and to parents who are in despair because of persistent child behaviour problems and other stressors. This article gives an overview of this home-based approach and the most important research results. One main starting point for FPA is that parents should be supported so that they can fulfil their child-rearing responsibilities. In families where the children are neglected or maltreated and in families where the parents feel desperate and powerless, the fundamental attitude of the FPA worker plays a decisive role. Process-outcome research corroborates the importance of encouraging and validating the parents' positive qualities and expertise.