Ten Research Questions for Family Therapy

Abstract

A growing evidence‐base shows that family therapy works, but many gaps in our knowledge remain about the conditions under which family therapy is effective and how it works. In this paper, ten critical research questions about family therapy that need to be addressed are considered. In short these are: Is family therapy as effective in community settings as it is in specialist clinics? For what problems is family therapy cost‐effective? Does family therapy work for under‐researched problems and populations? Do social‐constructionist and narrative approaches to family therapy work? Can family therapy protocols be enhanced for non‐responders? Can family therapy be combined with other psychotherapies to effectively treat specific problems? Can family therapy be combined with pharmacotherapy to effectively treat specific problems? What specific factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy with particular problems? What common factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy? What therapist and client factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy?