This presentation is part of the 5th Annual Bridging Communities Conference: Finding Connection and Building Communities in a Virtual Environment. Ticket price includes access to all Bridging Communities speakers throughout the month of November including the keynote on November 24, 2020.
Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is an internationally recognized evidence based therapy model that provides families with a different perspective on the complex challenges that they are facing relating to family conflict, interpersonal violence, substance use, and mental health concerns program exists as a collaboration between Catholic Family Service and Carya. By learning from each agency and their respective strengths, we have successfully implanted FFT into the Calgary community are the only team practicing within Canada.
FFT therapists support the entire family in strengthening family relationships around areas of emotional regulation, safe coping, healthy communication, and problem-solving. FFT has a unique approach to working with families in the most challenging family circumstances, including family violence. Through a non-judgmental, empathetic, and strength-based lens, therapists are able to validate families’ experiences, while acknowledging the challenges they face. Therapists work to hold family members accountable in a manner that is not punitive or blaming in order to support the family in building skills, strengthen family relationships and ending the cycle of family violence. Over the course of 6 months, therapists work with families to build hope, learn new skills, and break apart dysfunctional family patterns.
The model integrates collaboration as a keyway to facilitate and sustain long-term change and therapists use specific techniques to engage both natural and professional community supports to support the family in their next steps. The presentation will guide participates through a foundational understanding of FFT and how utilizing a full family approach to addressing family violence has positive impacts on the entire family system. We will also explore how collaboration has been used to maintain positive change and strengthen family relationship as well as a discussion of case examples and specific techniques utilized to support clinicians in breaking the cycle of family violence.
Speaker: Angela Blakely-Elliott, Carya and Vanessa McConnell, Catholic Family Services