Bridging the research-practice gap in adolescent substance abuse treatment: the case of brief strategic family therapy

Abstract

This article presents an empirically validated intervention, Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT), for the treatment of adolescent drug abusers. The BSFT intervention steps and program format are presented. Challenges to implementation in community treatment settings are discussed to identify factors that may facilitate or block the integration of BSFT into community practice settings. In particular, this discussion explores how 3 critical aspects of community treatment programs--program philosophy, program structure, and cost/funding--influence the blending of BSFT into community treatment practice.