Clinical Applications of Evidence-Based Family Interventions

Families today often face a range of urgent problems, and practitioners need to intervene with the most effective methods possible, methods which have been tested and that have proven clinical utility. Mental health service delivery systems are increasingly moving toward these empirically-validated approaches, and practitioners need guidelines as to how such treatments may be implemented in daily practice.
Evidence-Based Family Interventions reviews the empirically validated treatments that are relevant for family practice in the social work setting. Jacqueline Corcoran, a social work professor with extensive experience in varied settings, addresses some of the most prevalent areas of sexual abuse, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct problems, substance abuse, and depression. Within each area, Corcoran presents evidence-based approaches, including psychoeducation, behavioral parent training, solution-focused therapy, cognitive-behavioral treatment, structural family therapy, and multisystemic treatment. For each problem area, a detailed case study provides step-by-step guidelines on how the empirically validated theory can be applied in practice. This volume offers the type of reader-friendly application of family treatment theory most needed by practitioners. It is an essential guide for caseworkers and clinicians involved in child welfare, family preservation, juvenile justice, and family mental health counseling and guidance.

Jacqueline Corcoran is at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work.