MEASURING FAMILY-THERAPY OUTCOME IN A CLINICAL SETTING - FAMILIES THAT DO BETTER OR DO WORSE IN THERAPY

This study examined several important family and therapist characteris tics as they related to treatment success. A total of 434 families ent ering family therapy at a sliding-fee clinic in Dallas, Texas were rat ed (on the Beavers Interactional Competence and Style Scales), and com pleted several self-report family assessment instruments (Self-Report Family Inventory, FACES III) prior to beginning therapy. The therapist s, trainees from various disciplines, had been trained in the Beavers Systems Model. Overall, 75% of the families showed at least some impro vement. Those that fared best in therapy were more competent at the ou tset. While number of therapy sessions was associated with greater gai ns, there were some families that made great gains in fewer than six s essions; There were important demographic qualities that did not discr iminate between greater- vs. lesser-gain, families, including income l evel, ethnicity, therapist gender, and family size. A regression analy sis indicated that functional rather than demographic variables were m ore important in predicting therapy outcome.