Functional Family Therapy

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family-based prevention and intervention program that has been applied successfully in a variety of contexts to treat a range of high-risk youth and their families. This approach draws on a multisystemic perspective in its family-based prevention and intervention efforts. The program applies a comprehensive model, proven theory, empirically tested principles, and a wealth of experience to the treatment of at-risk and delinquent youth.

FFT is a good example of the current generation of family-based treatments for adolescent behavior problems (Mendel, 2000; Sexton & Alexander, 1999). It combines and integrates the following elements into a clear and comprehensive clinical model: established clinical theory, empirically supported principles, and extensive clinical experience.

The FFT model allows for successful intervention in complex and multidimensional problems through clinical practice that is flexibly structured and culturally sensitive—and also accountable to youth, their families, and the community. Although commonly used as an intervention program, FFT is also an effective prevention program for at-risk adolescents and their families.

Whether implemented as an intervention or a prevention program, FFT may include a combination of diversion, probation, alternatives to incarceration, and reentry programs for youth returning to the community following release from a high-security institutional setting.

FFT targets youth between the ages of 11 and 18 from a variety of ethnic and cultural groups. It also provides treatment to the younger siblings of referred adolescents. FFT is a short-term intervention—including, on average, 8 to 12 sessions for mild cases and up to 30 hours of direct service (e.g., clinical sessions, telephone calls, and meetings involving community resources) for more difficult cases. In most cases, sessions are spread over a 3-month period.

Regardless of the target population, FFT emphasizes the importance of respecting all family members on their own terms (i.e., as they experience the intervention process).

James F. Alexander, PhD, received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 1967. He is currently a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Dr. Alexander is the progenitor (with B. V. Parsons) of Functional Family Therapy (FFT). FFT is a nationally and internationally acclaimed and empirically demonstrated intervention model for juvenile delinquents, oppositional and conduct disordered youth, and substance-abusing youth. FFT was designated by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence as a Blueprint Program (one of 11 such programs nationally) for the successful treatment of delinquency, substance abuse, and violence for high-risk youth.

A fellow of Divisions 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and 43 (Family Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Alexander was named Family Psychologist of the Year by Division 43 in 1994 and was granted the Presidential Citation/Lifetime Achievement Contributions to Family Therapy Research Award by Division 43 in 2001. He received numerous other honors including the Distinguished Contributions to Family Therapy Research Award from the American Family Therapy Academy and the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy's Distinguished Award for Lifetime Contributions to Family Therapy Research.

Dr. Alexander is the author of two books and over 90 chapters and journal articles on family therapy and the treatment of adolescents with alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health problems. He served on the editorial board of seven major family-related journals and was senior consulting editor for The Family Psychologist from 1992–1995.

Dr. Alexander has a reputation for excellence as a presenter at over 150 conventions and academic colloquia and over 300 clinical training workshops.

• Alexander, J. F., & Parsons, B. V. (1973). Short-term family intervention: A therapy outcome study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2, 195–201.
• Alexander, J. F., Pugh, C., Parsons, B. V., & Sexton, T. L. (2000). Functional family therapy. In D. S. Elliott (Ed.), Blueprints for violence prevention (2nd ed., Book 3). Boulder: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado.
• Alexander, J. F., Robbins, M. S., & Sexton, T. L. (1999). Family therapy with older, indicated youth: From promise to proof to practice. In K. Kumpfer (Ed.), Center for substance abuse prevention science symposium: Bridging the gap between research and practice. Washington, DC: Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention.
• Alexander, J. F., Sexton, T. L., & Robbins, M. S. (2000). The developmental status of family therapy in family psychology intervention science. In H. Liddle, D. Santisteban, R. Leavant, & J. Bray (Eds.), Family psychology: Science-based interventions (pp. 17–40). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Aos, S., Barnoski, R., & Lieb, R. (1998). Watching the bottom line: Cost-effective interventions for reducing crime in Washington. Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
• Barton, C., Alexander, J. F., Waldron, H., Turner, C. W., & Warburton, J. (1985). Generalizing treatment effects of functional family therapy: Three replications. American Journal of Family Therapy, 13, 16–26.
• Gordon, D. A., Arbuthnot, J., Gustafson, K. E., & McGreen, P. (1988). Home-based behavioral-systems family therapy with disadvantaged juvenile delinquents. American Journal of Family Therapy, 16 (3), 243–255.
• Gordon, D. A., Graves, K., & Arbuthnot, J. (1995). The effect of Functional Family Therapy for delinquents on adult criminal behavior. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 22, 60–73.
• Hansson, K. (1998). Functional family therapy replication in Sweden: Treatment outcome with juvenile delinquents. Paper presented at the Eighth Conference on Treating Addictive Behaviors, Santa Fe, NM.
• Klein, N. C., Alexander, J. F., & Parsons, B. V. (1977). Impact of family systems intervention on recidivism and sibling delinquency: A model of primary prevention and program evaluation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 469–474.
• Mendel, R. A. (2000). Less hype, more help: Reducing juvenile crime, what works—and what doesn't. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum.
• Sexton, T. L., & Alexander, J. F. (1999). Functional Family Therapy: Principles of clinical intervention, assessment, and implementation. Henderson, NV: RCH Enterprises.
• Sexton, T. L., & Alexander, J. F. (2000, December). Functional Family Therapy (NCJ Publication No. 184743). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

APA Videos

• Family Therapy Over Time
  Susan H. McDaniel
• Family Therapy With Patients Having Physical Health Problems
  Susan H. McDaniel
• Harm Reduction With High School Students
  Mary E. Larimer
• Individual Therapy From a Family Systems Perspective
  Florence W. Kaslow
• Multidimensional Family Therapy
  Howard A. Liddle
• Parenting Young Children
  Edward R. Christophersen
• Working With Stepfamilies
  James H. Bray

APA Books

• Action Therapy With Families and Groups: Using Creative Arts Improvisation in Clinical Practice
  Edited by Daniel J. Wiener and Linda K. Oxford
• Casebook for Integrating Family Therapy: An Ecosystemic Approach
  Edited by Susan H. McDaniel, Don-David Lusterman, and Carol L. Philpot
• Empowered Families, Successful Children: Early Intervention Programs That Work
  Susan Epps and Barbara J. Jackson
• Family Psychology: Science-Based Interventions
  Edited by Howard A. Liddle, Daniel A. Santisteban, Ronald F. Levant, and James H. Bray
• Feminist Family Therapy: Empowerment in Social Context
  Edited by Louise B. Silverstein and Thelma Jean Goodrich
• Integrating Family Therapy: Handbook of Family Psychology and Systems Theory
  Edited by Richard H. Mikesell, Don-David Lusterman, and Susan H. McDaniel
• Intervening in Children's Lives: An Ecological, Family-Centered Approach to Mental Health Care
  Thomas J. Dishion and Elizabeth A. Stormshak
• Preventing Violence: Research and Evidence-Based Intervention Strategies
  Edited by John R. Lutzker
• Preventing Youth Violence in a Multicultural Society
  Edited by Nancy G. Guerra and Emilie Phillips Smith
• Therapeutic Alliances in Couple and Family Therapy: An Empirically Informed Guide to Practice
  Myrna L. Friedlander, Valentín Escudero, and Laurie Heatherington

Magination Press Books

• Solving Your Problems Together: Family Therapy for the Whole Family
  Jane Annunziata and Phyllis Jacobson-Kram; Illustrated by Elizabeth Wolf