Inpatient family therapy. A multicenter study of families' and staff's experience of family climate

Abstract

Within child and youth psychiatry family therapy has been a common treatment method. Even inpatient treatment has used this by bringing the whole family into the ward. This study presents the results from a multicenter study of inpatient family therapy. The study has followed five family units (Lund, Vaxjo, Uddevalla, Falun, and Umea) during 1 year. The results show that immediately after the treatment half of the families report more positive family climate than at the beginning of the treatment. A follow-up study shows some difference between the units, but the results are still positive, especially considering the heavy problems in the families. We can also see that there is considerable correspondence between families' and staffs ratings of the family climate.

Key Words:

• Family climate
• Follow-up study
• Inpatient family therapy