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Beardslee’s preventive family intervention for children of mentally ill parents: a Swedish national survey
- Authors:
- PIHKALA Helja, CEDERSTROM Anita, SANDLUND Mikael
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 12(1), February 2010, pp.29-38.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Beardslee’s family intervention (FI) is a preventative method for children of depressed parents and included among evidence-based methods in the US. In Finland and Sweden the FI has been used in families with varying parental diagnoses, although research is lacking for parental diagnoses other than depression. FI consists of six or seven sessions with the family. The professionals’ role is to encourage and promote dialogue between the family members. The present study investigated the introduction and implementation of the FI in Sweden, its safety and its feasibility in clinical services. One hundred and three families who had participated in FI during 2007 who had children aged between 8 and 18 years were asked to complete the questionnaire. The overall response rate was 72%. Diagnoses included anxiety/depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, and eating disorder. Parents and children were generally satisfied with FI and predominantly reported a positive impact of FI. No differences in responses were found between diagnostic groups. The authors conclude that this study lends support to the assumption that Beardslee’s preventive family intervention is safe and feasible in general psychiatric populations, not only in families with parental depression. It also indicates that the training programme is sufficient, providing an instrument for successful practice of the FI for the professionals.