Since 2008, the President has signed two new laws expanding VA authority to provide family services for Veterans' mental health care and creating a need to identify efficacious and promising family involved interventions for improving Veterans' mental health outcomes. With one exception, prior reviews have traditionally focused on one condition at a time, limiting comparisons across conditions and preventing a synthesis of the evidence for all mental health conditions, including those with few randomized controlled trials (RCTs; e.g., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD). Finally, prior reviews are potentially less relevant to VA populations due to their focus on studies conducted in non-Veteran populations. Consistent with prior work defining empirically supported psychological treatments, we conducted a systematic review of the published evidence evaluating if (and which) family involved treatments improve patient outcomes (i.e., efficacy) and if (and which) family involved treatments are superior to alternative interventions (i.e., specificity or comparative effectiveness, especially those therapies that include solely the patient, not family members). This topic was nominated by Sonja Batten, PhD, Office of Mental Health Services, and is primarily intended to help refine clinical guidelines by providing information as to whether family treatments improve the outcomes for Veterans receiving care for mental health conditions and if they provide incremental benefits beyond treatment solely involving Veterans. To evaluate findings of greatest validity and relevance to the United States (and especially Veteran) populations, we included studies if they were RCTs conducted in the United States, and we focused on patient outcomes (i.e., final outcomes), including symptoms of mental health conditions and family/ couple functioning. Intermediate outcomes of interest included treatment adherence, treatment attendance, patient satisfaction, and social support for patients. We addressed the following key questions: Key Question #1. What is the efficacy of family involved interventions in improving outcomes for adult patients with mental health conditions [i.e., how do family involved psychosocial treatments compare to no psychosocial treatment: (a) waitlist/no treatment or (b) medication management only]? Key Question 2. What is the effectiveness of family involved interventions compared to alternative interventions in improving outcomes for adult patients with mental health conditions [i.e., how do family involved interventions compare to (a) any individually-oriented psychosocial intervention or (b) any alternative family involved intervention]?

Since 2008, the President has signed two new laws expanding VA authority to provide family services for Veterans' mental health care and creating a need to identify efficacious and promising family involved interventions for improving Veterans' mental health outcomes. With one exception, prior reviews have traditionally focused on one condition at a time, limiting comparisons across conditions and preventing a synthesis of the evidence for all mental health conditions, including those with few randomized controlled trials (RCTs; e.g., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD). Finally, prior reviews are potentially less relevant to VA populations due to their focus on studies conducted in non-Veteran populations. Consistent with prior work defining empirically supported psychological treatments, we conducted a systematic review of the published evidence evaluating if (and which) family involved treatments improve patient outcomes (i.e., efficacy) and if (and which) family involved treatments are superior to alternative interventions (i.e., specificity or comparative effectiveness, especially those therapies that include solely the patient, not family members). This topic was nominated by Sonja Batten, PhD, Office of Mental Health Services, and is primarily intended to help refine clinical guidelines by providing information as to whether family treatments improve the outcomes for Veterans receiving care for mental health conditions and if they provide incremental benefits beyond treatment solely involving Veterans. To evaluate findings of greatest validity and relevance to the United States (and especially Veteran) populations, we included studies if they were RCTs conducted in the United States, and we focused on patient outcomes (i.e., final outcomes), including symptoms of mental health conditions and family/couple functioning. Intermediate outcomes of interest included treatment adherence, treatment attendance, patient satisfaction, and social support for patients.

In the past decade, evidence based practice (EBP) has emerged as one of the most important movements to improve the effectiveness of clinical care. As the number of older adults continues to grow, it is essential that practitioners have knowledge of effective strategies to improve both the medical and the psychosocial aspects of older persons' lives. The purpose of this work is to present systematic reviews of research-based psychosocial interventions for older adults and their caregivers. The interventions presented focus on a variety of critical issues facing older adults today including medical illnesses (cardiac disease, diabetes, arthritis/pain, cancer, and HIV/AIDS), mental health/cognitive disorders (depression/anxiety, dementia, substance abuse), and social functioning (developmental disabilities, end-of-life, dementia caregivers, grandparent caregivers). For each of these areas the prevalence of the problem, the demographics of those affected, and the nature and consequences of the problem are discussed. The empirical literature is then reviewed. A treatment summary highlights the type and nature of research supporting the interventions reviewed and is followed by a conclusion section that summarizes the status of intervention research for the specified issue. A Treatment Resource Appendix for each area is included. These appendices highlight manuals, books, articles and web resources that detail the treatment approaches and methodologies discussed. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Contains papers from a May 1998 conference held in London, plus additional papers, acknowledging the mutual interaction between children and parents, recognizing the ways in which children's and adults' problems overlap, and considering implications for service delivery. After an introductory overview, sections consider the implications of childhood trauma on later life, the impact of parental mental health problems on children, and how interactions within a family can affect the mental health of all individuals within the family. Reder is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Child and Family Consultation Center, London. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

In the past decade, evidence based practice (EBP) has emerged as one of the most important movements to improve the effectiveness of clinical care. As the number of older adults continues to grow, it is essential that practitioners have knowledge of effective strategies to improve both the medical and the psychosocial aspects of older persons' lives. The purpose of this work is to present systematic reviews of research-based psychosocial interventions for older adults and their caregivers. The interventions presented focus on a variety of critical issues facing older adults today including medical illnesses (cardiac disease, diabetes, arthritis/pain, cancer, and HIV/AIDS), mental health/cognitive disorders (depression/anxiety, dementia, substance abuse), and social functioning (developmental disabilities, end-of-life, dementia caregivers, grandparent caregivers). For each of these areas the prevalence of the problem, the demographics of those affected, and the nature and consequences of the problem are discussed. The empirical literature is then reviewed. A treatment summary highlights the type and nature of research supporting the interventions reviewed and is followed by a conclusion section that summarizes the status of intervention research for the specified issue. A Treatment Resource Appendix for each area is included. These appendices highlight manuals, books, articles and web resources that detail the treatment approaches and methodologies discussed. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Millions of children, adolescents, and adults worldwide experience significant mental health problems, for which they receive no treatment whatsoever. Despite decades of world-class, innovative treatment research, growing governmental and public attention to mental health issues, and decreasing stigma around seeking care, the supply of tools and resources available to combat the burdens of mental illness globally are vastly outweighed by demand for services. Innovations in Psychosocial Interventions and Their Delivery provides an integrated and detailed overview of advances, challenges, and necessary new directions with regard to evidence-based psychological interventions. Drawing on diverse fields such as public health, business, entertainment, social policy and law, and other domains that may inform efforts to deliver interventions more effectively, Alan Kazdin explores an assortment of novel and inventive ways to address the world's mental health crisis. Focusing attention on promising scientific developments and the special challenges that emerge in evaluating and delivering such interventions, the book examines opportunities such as trans-diagnostic treatments, inventive uses of technology, complementary approaches, novel methods of dissemination such as task-shifting, and more. The first to bring together such diverse perspectives in an effort to show precisely and practically how treatments could be delivered effectively and in a scalable manner, Innovations in Psychosocial Interventions and Their Delivery has direct and immediate implications for health care systems but also for research and clinical practice in the mental health professions. It will be of keen interest to those in psychology, psychiatry, social work, family studies, counseling, nursing, and healthcare administration.

Mental health practitioners often think about the person seeking help as the first priority; and the context in which they live may become a secondary consideration. However, there is now good evidence that working with families can be very helpful, both for family members and for the person experiencing mental health issues. For instance, offering family intervention for people with psychosis can in some cases reduce the relapse rate. Working with the whole family can also help reduce the burden placed on carers – for example, in families of people with dementia. Written by a team of experts in the field, this book gives useful, practical guidance on a range of ways in which mental health practitioners can work with children, adults and families who access mental health services. Where possible, hypothetical examples are used to show how a particular theory or model can be applied in practice. The authors have also drawn on interventions and approaches where there is an established evidence base, showing how collaborative approaches can be adapted to meet the particular needs of individual families.

Couples and Family Therapy in Clinical Practice has been the psychiatric and mental health clinician's trusted companion for over four decades. This new fifth edition delivers the essential information that clinicians of all disciplines need to provide effective family-centered interventions for couples and families. A practical clinical guide, it helps clinicians integrate family-systems approaches with pharmacotherapies for individual patients and their families. Couples and Family Therapy in Clinical Practice draws on the authors’ extensive clinical experience as well as on the scientific literature in the family-systems, psychiatry, psychotherapy, and neuroscience fields.

In this age of accountability, and irrespective of whether they work in health-care settings or conventional mental health settings, all therapists will be increasingly expected to provide effective psychosocial treatment to individuals and families who face co-morbid medical conditions. Statistics these conditions are daunting: 75 percent of adults over age 65 and 50 percent of Americans constantly experience chronic medical symptoms, and prevalence rates of chronic medical conditions that are more than three times higher than mental illness. While it can be helpful to conceptualize treatment in terms of individual dynamics and utilize cognitive behavioral strategies, it can be much more effective to conceptualize family as well as individual dynamics and to utilize systemic interventions when indicated. Effective Treatment of Individuals and Families Facing Medical Conditions addresses the need for these types of interventions. It provides background information on 12 common medical conditions, and includes discussions of family dynamics as well as medical and psychosocial treatments. While recognizing the role of personality, culture, and illness dynamics, it emphasizes the centrality of family dynamics in conceptualizing and implementing interventions.