Youth Services : Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT)

BSFT is an effective, problem-focused, and practical approach to the elimination of substance abuse risk factors. It successfully reduces problem behaviors in children and adolescents 11-18 years old and strengthens their families. BSFT helps the families of rebellious, truant, delinquent or substance-using youth identify the conduct that has supported the adolescent's anti-social behavior and develop new, more functional patterns. Therapists use reframing techniques to help families draw upon their own strengths, and assign weekly tasks to parents as well as youth. Sessions target behavior problems, association with antisocial peers, substance abuse, and problematic family relations. Youth earn privileges by contracting to meet behavioral goals that are set cooperatively by the family, therapist and the referring juvenile service staff. BSFT has proven particularly successful with Latino and African-American families.

BSFT recognizes that the family itself is part of a larger social system (as a child is influenced by her or his family) and the family is influenced by the larger social system in which it exists. Sensitivity to contextual factors begins with an understanding of the influence of peers, schools, and neighborhoods on the development of children's behavior problems.

BSFT evolved from more than 25 years of research and practice at the University of Miami in Florida and has proven particularly successful with Latino and African-American families.
The goal of BSFT is to improve youth behavior by improving family relationships that are presumed to be directly related to youth behavior problems and improving relationships between the family and other important systems that influence the youth (e.g., school, peers).
Case managers provide comprehensive assessment services. They establish pro-social opportunities for youth in the community and help youth identify appropriate employment resources.
Therapists use reframing techniques to help families draw upon their own strengths, and assign weekly tasks to parents as well as youth. Sessions target behavior problems, association with antisocial peers, substance abuse, and problematic family relations.
Interventions are practical. That is, interventions are tailored to the unique characteristics of families and are implemented to achieve attainable treatment goals. Youth earn privileges by contracting to meet behavioral goals that are set cooperatively by the family, therapist, case worker and juvenile probation staff.
BSFT is a short-term, problem-focused intervention. The average treatment includes approximately 12-15 sessions and lasts about three months.