Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is an empirically grounded, well-documented and highly successful family intervention program for at risk and delinquent youth who are 11–18 years of age. FFT has been applied to a wide range of at risk youth and their families in various multi-ethnic and multicultural contexts. Target populations range from at-risk preadolescents to youth with very serious problems such as conduct disorder, violent externalizing behaviors and substance-abuse.
While FFT targets youth who have often come in contact with the juvenile justice, mental health or child welfare systems, younger siblings of referred youth often become part of the FFT intervention process as well. FFT ranges from, on average, 8 to 12 one-hour sessions for mild situations and up to 30 sessions of direct service for more difficult situations. In most programs, sessions are spread over a three-month period. FFT has been conducted in clinic settings, as an out-patient therapy and as a home-based model.
The FFT clinical model is appealing because of its clear identification of specific phases which organize intervention in a coherent manner, thereby allowing practitioners to maintain focus in the context of considerable family and youth disruption. Each phase includes specific goals, assessment foci, specific techniques of intervention, and practitioner skill sets necessary for success. The phases of FFT are:
Engagement and Motivation
Develop alliances
Reduce negativity, resistance
Improve communication
Minimize hopelessness
Reduce dropout potential
Develop family focus
Increase motivation for change
Behavior Change
Develop and implement individual change plans
Change presenting delinquency behaviors
Build relational skills (e.g., communication and parenting)
Generalization
Maintain/generalize change
Prevent relapses
Provide community resources necessary to support change
The data from numerous outcome studies suggests that when applied as intended, FFT can reduce recidivism between 25% and 60%. Additional studies suggest that FFT is a cost-effective intervention that can, when implemented with model-adherence, reduce treatment costs well below that of traditional services and other family-based interventions. The fidelity of the FFT model is achieved by a specific training model and a sophisticated client assessment, tracking, and monitoring system. The FFT program implementation targets clinical teams of up to 8 practitioners who work together by regular clinical training and consultation.
