Evidence-Based Practices

Support, Inc. Offers Evidence-Based Practices

According to the American Psychological Association, evidence-based practices integrate the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics. The goal of evidence-based practice in psychology is to promote effective psychological practice and improve public health by applying empirically supported principles of psychological assessment, case formulation, therapeutic relationships and intervention.

Below are the evidence-based practices available at Support, Inc.

Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT)

Support Incorporated uses the ESFT Model for Intensive In-Home therapy. Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) is a therapeutic approach that focuses on understanding and addressing family dynamics within their broader environment. It’s particularly effective for families experiencing behavioral or relational challenges.

Key principles of ESFT:

Systemic perspective: Views the family as a complex system, where each member’s behavior influences and is influenced by others.
Relational focus: Emphasizes the importance of relationships within the family and how they contribute to the child’s emotional well-being.
Ecological perspective: Recognizes the impact of the broader environment, such as school, community, and culture, on the family and the child.
Developmental perspective: Considers the child’s developmental stage and how it influences their behavior and understanding of the world.

ESFT aims to:

Improve family communication and interactions
Enhance parental skills and support
Strengthen the child’s emotional well-being
Prevent out-of-home placements

Through techniques like family sculpting, enactment, and reframing, ESFT helps families identify and address underlying issues, leading to positive changes in their relationships and overall functioning.

High-Fidelity Wraparound (HFW)

For Ages: 5 – 20 years

Symptoms or History: Imminent risk of out-of-home placement or recent transition back into home, history of unstable family life or dynamics, involvement with juvenile justice or social services, unmanageable behaviors

Treatment Method: Coaching through face-to-face or telephone contact

Treatment Session Frequency: Minimum of once per week

Description: HFW is not treatment. It is a non-clinical service that is recommended for youth and families who need help to navigate complex health and human service systems. HFW empowers families with the ability to define and meet their own needs. High-Fidelity Wraparound is a structured, team-based process that uses an evidence-based, nationally-recognized model that partners with families to use their voice and strengths to develop a family-driven plan that promotes self-advocacy. Typically, children spend 12 to 18 months in HFW. The Child & Family Team meets once a month until it decides that the child is ready to transition out of the program, and HFW care coordination is no longer needed. HFW has been shown to help avoid out-of-home placement, improve school attendance and performance, decrease interactions with the legal system and enhance a family’s quality of life.

Family Centered Treatment (FCT)

For Ages: 3 – 18 years

Treatment Method: In-home family therapy

Treatment Session Frequency: Minimum of 2 to 3 times per week

Description: While FCT integrates elements of several evidence-based theoretical models, two in particular form its foundation: Eco-Structural Family Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy. Both rely upon changing the emotional tone and interaction patterns among family members. Another theory that influenced the development of Family Centered Treatment is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which is a systemic model that relies heavily on Structural Family Therapy, particularly the practice of enactments. FCT allows the family to restructure critical areas of functioning and to utilize emotion to build attachments. Both attachment and eco-structural theory stress the importance of emotional experience and expression. FCT stresses getting to the functions of behaviors rather than simply treating the symptoms, which is why the model is effective with clients/families with histories of trauma and with diagnosis.

Together Facing the Challenge (TFTC)

For Ages: 3 – 21 years

Symptoms or History: Youth needing Level II residential treatment or Intensive Alternative Family Treatment (IAFT) as indicated by diagnostic assessment

Treatment Method: Residential family setting with certified foster parents

Treatment Session Frequency: Daily

Description: TFTC is a training/consultation approach to improving practice in therapeutic foster care (TFC) or IAFT. Based on practice components related to improved outcomes for youth, it also incorporates elements from existing evidence-based treatments to fill identified gaps in usual care practice. The resulting model includes training/consultation for TFC supervisors as well as training for treatment foster parents. At the end, both therapeutic foster parents and supervisors alike will build therapeutic relationships; perform and teach cooperation skills; implement effective parenting techniques (communicate effectively, set expectations, reinforce positive behavior, avoid power struggles, etc.); prepare youth for their future by teaching independence skills; create a positive home environment through family fun time, taking care of self, family meetings, etc.; and improve outcomes for youth in therapeutic foster care settings

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

For Ages: 3+ years

Symptoms or History: Depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), major loss/illness/injury or trauma, life-threatening substance abuse, self-injurious or aggressive behavior, years of unsuccessful psychotherapy, hospitalizations, somatic symptoms, chronic instability at home or work

Treatment Method: Individual outpatient therapy

Treatment Session Frequency: Minimum of once per week

Description: Extensively researched, EMDR has been and proven effective for the treatment of trauma and other distressing life experiences. During EMDR therapy, the client is asked to focus on a specific event. Attention is given to a negative image, belief and body feeling related to this event, and then to a positive belief that would indicate that the issue was resolved. While the client focuses on the upsetting event, the therapist begins sets of side-to-side eye movements, sounds or taps. Clients are directed to notice what comes to mind after each set. They may experience shifts in insight or changes in images, feelings or beliefs regarding the event. The client has full control to stop the therapist at any point, if needed. The sets of eye movements, sounds or taps are repeated until the event becomes less disturbing.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

For Ages: 3 – 6-1/2 years

Symptoms or History: Defiant behavior, temper tantrums, oppositional behavior, difficulty in school or daycare settings

Treatment Method: Family outpatient therapy

Treatment Session Frequency: Minimum of once per week

Description: PCIT is a behavioral intervention for children and their parents or caregivers that focuses on decreasing the external child behavior problems listed above by increasing the child’s social skills and cooperation, and enhancing the parent/child attachment relationship. Parents learn traditional play-therapy skills to reinforce positive behavior, and traditional behavior management skills to decrease negative behavior. While parents practice these skills with their child in a playroom, a therapist provides feedback on the parent’s use of their new skills so they can apply them quickly and correctly. PCIT has no time limit; families remain in treatment until the parents demonstrate their mastery of the treatment skills and the child’s behavior is rated as normal using a standardized measure of child behavior. Treatment length averages about 14 weeks of hour-long sessions.