FamilyLive
About This Program
Target Population: Caregivers (e.g., biological, foster, relative, adoptive) of children from birth to18 years of age whose trauma histories and present day stress exposures interfere with the ability to benefit from child- and youth-focused trauma treatments
For children/adolescents ages: 0 – 18
For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 18
Program Overview
FamilyLive is a strengths-based caregiver-focused family therapy intervention that helps caregivers with unresolved trauma histories and significant present day stress improve parenting skills and respond to their children's trauma-affected moods and behaviors. The model places emphasis on specialized engagement strategies that highlight competencies and encourage caregivers to become active participants in the treatment process. The model was developed in response to the needs of families and children exposed to significant adversities including racial and economic marginalization, community violence and traumatic family histories including parental incarceration, domestic violence, and homelessness.
Program Goals
The goals of FamilyLive are:
- Improve self-awareness and self-care
- Improve affect regulation
- Improve interpersonal functioning
- Improve emotional perspective taking
- Improve personal and parental reflective function
- Manage stress
- Benefit more substantially from sources of support
- Improve team work with co-caregivers
- Enhance structure
- Boost emotional responsiveness to children and adolescents in their care
- Decrease internalizing and externalizing behavior in children and adolescents
- Increase help-seeking behavior in children and adolescents
- Improve family communication
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for FamilyLive.
Essential Components
The essential components of FamilyLive include:
- Individualized clinic-based family therapy
- One-way mirror separating the clinical space from the observation space
- "In-room Clinician" to sit in the clinical space with the family
- Specially trained "Team Lead" to provide individualized "verbalizations" or "call in's" from the observation space
- Telephone through which to provide individualized verbalizations
- Audio equipment to project sound from the clinical space to the observation space
- In-session and between session trauma-informed engagement strategies
- Emergency response system to address child and adult issues as needed
- Attentive scheduling system
- Strong outreach to families living in stressful conditions
Program Delivery
Child/Adolescent Services
FamilyLive directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:
- Mood problems, a range of trauma symptoms, internalizing and externalizing behaviors and problems functioning in multiple settings
Parent/Caregiver Services
FamilyLive directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:
- Hyper and hypo arousal, poor stress management, diffuse boundaries and unstable interpersonal relationships which interfere with ability to engage in traditional mental health services
Services Involve Family/Support Structures:
This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: The following can be involved in therapy as needed: extended family, case management services, DSS workers, psychiatric rehabilitation services, schools, psychiatrists, primary care providers, and day treatment programs.
Recommended Intensity:
Three or four 50-minute sessions per month
Recommended Duration:
18 months
Delivery Setting
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Outpatient Clinic
Homework
FamilyLive includes a homework component:
Occasionally but not formatted into the intervention
Resources Needed to Run Program
The typical resources for implementing the program are:
One-way mirror, audio equipment, telephones, trained team lead, in-room clinician, emergency response system
Manuals and Training
Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications
Team Leads complete team lead training which includes didactic, live-session observation, video review, and coached live practice elements.
Manual Information
There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.
Training Information
There is training available for this program.
Training Contact:
- Sarah Gardner, LCSW-C
gardner@kennedykrieger.org
phone: (443) 923-5957
Training Type/Location:
Available in Baltimore/Washington Metro Area
Number of days/hours:
Depends on current practice level of those being trained.
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for FamilyLive.
Additional References
Gardner, S., Loya, T. & Hyman, C. (2014). FamilyLive: Parental skill building for caregivers with Interpersonal trauma exposures. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42(1), 81-89. doi:10.1007/s10615-012-0428-8
Contact Information
- Sarah Gardner, LCSW-C
- Agency/Affiliation: Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress at Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Email: gardner@kennedykrieger.org
- Phone: (443) 923-5957
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: April 2016
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: September 2023
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: June 2016
