The Importance Of Engagement Process Of Family Therapy

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Beginning Phase
Engagement Process
To engage the client and the family, the therapist should provide interpersonal warmth to avoid barriers in the therapist-client-family relationship, and for a successful treatment outcome. Therapist should be empathetic to their client’s and the family’s situation, be culturally competent and respectful, build a collaborative relationship, know the client’s and their families’ needs for treatment, and ensure their understanding of the therapeutic process (Rodriguez, Hoagwood, Gopalan, Olin, McKay, Marcus, & Legerski, 2012).
An important engagement strategy is to be empathetic of the client’s and their family’s experience and current situation. To truly understand their feelings, therapist should appreciate …show more content…

Many ethnic groups are resistant to treatment due to mistrust of the system and stigma around mental health. The issue of trust should be brought up in the beginning of treatment in order for the client and family to feel comfortable and be more likely to disclose information. Therefore, the therapist should establish clear and effective boundaries to ensure the development of a safe therapeutic environment on which trusting relationship can be developed and provide psycho-education on mental health to avoid resistance to treatment (Harper & Steadman, 2003). It is also very important to establish a positive working alliance with the family system as defined by the client; they are the most important resources to the client and support system to help guide the client through the therapy process and for better success in …show more content…

Plan should address the child’s needs across all the major system of care- mental health, social, educational, health, vocational, and recreational. In addition the treatment plan should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound for a client to have successful treatment outcomes. A cultural competent assessment and plan is necessary for ethnically diverse clients and families for greater effectiveness of the treatment (de Arellano & Danielson, 2008). Consent and contracting for treatment is important due to the federal and state laws governing consent for services. Written parent consent must be obtained in order for a minor to participate in mental health services. Children and adolescence that do not have written consent cannot receive services due to liability issues and compliance with the law. In addition it is important to discuss confidentiality and the exceptions to

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