Clinician Perspectives on Relationship, Therapeutic Strategy, and Gender Responsiveness in Child Welfare Substance Abuse Settings

Abstract

There is a growing acknowledgment of client–provider relationship as a determining factor within evidence-based practice implementation. This collective case study of 20 service providers examined the approaches used by clinicians working with substance-abusing mothers involved in child welfare to shed light on their use of empirically informed, gender-specific interventions. Analyses revealed that clinicians struggle to articulate specific evidence-based frameworks, and their approach relies on an intuitively driven client–provider relationship. Clinicians report little institutional support for integration of empirically supported practices into settings where workforce stress plays a critical role, and thus rely on relationship skills to frame practice approach.

KEYWORDS:

• best practice
• child welfare
• client–provider relationship
• evidence-based practice
• implementation
• substance abuse
• therapeutic frameworks