Professor Loyola University Chicago Evanston, Illinois, United States
Body of Abstract: Youth suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth 5 – 19. According to the 2023 YRBS, past-year serious suicidal ideation was present in 20% of high school students. Although there are many risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, high family cohesion, emotional support, and parental involvement, has been found to protect against youth suicide and depression. Attachment-Based Family Therapy is the only manualized, empirically informed family therapy designed to target family and individual processes associated with adolescent suicide and depression. Evaluated with diverse families, including low-income and ethnic minority families, it is trust-based and emotion-focused; families repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild emotionally protective, secure parent–child relationships. The therapy begins with identification and discussion of what prohibits the adolescent from going to his/her parent(s) when feeling depressed or suicidal. In some families, family conflicts or traumas have strained the attachment bond and damaged trust. In other families, depression has led the adolescent to withdraw and isolate themself, resulting in parents' frustration, impatience, or abdication. Regardless, the therapy prepares family members to identify and discuss these ruptures directly. In the context of these emotionally charged “in vivo” conversations, adolescents improve their capacity for emotion regulation and interpersonal problem-solving, while parents learn more developmentally appropriate parenting skills.
ABFT has an emerging evidence base for use with a range of youth (Diamond et al, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019), including those with a history of trauma, LGB youth, and youth with depression and anxiety. It was originally developed and evaluated with low-income urban African American youth. Recent evaluations have intentionally expanded sampling to include more White and Latinx families, and families from suburban areas. The model has been shown to be effective in reducing suicide risk with youth from the Netherlands and Belgium (Israel, 2013; Santens, 2016). ABFT studies have also shown very high retention rates of 12 or more sessions even with low income, multi-problem families.
This workshop will define and illustrate two skills: 1) family therapy skills used to move the focus of the problem from the individual (usually the teenager) to the family system. 2) emotion-focused skills borrowed from Sue Johnson's Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy to deepen the affective responses around suicide risk and anchor family decisions in core emotions, rather than cognitions.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participant will be able to explain the theoretical foundation of ABFT
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participant will be able to discuss the empirical support for ABFT.
At the conclusion of this workshop, the participant will be able to discuss the purpose of the five treatment tasks.
