La efectividad de las terapias de familia

Résumé

The present paper offers a succint but critical review of the effectiveness of family intervention as a treatment modality. There is enough evidence to tentatively conclude that family therapy is effective with some disorders. However, inconsistent results are found when compared with some individuals psychotherapies. The clinical efficacy of four of the major schools of family therapy (strategic, humanistic, structural and behavioral) are examined. The conclusions are dissappointing. First, the strategic and the humanistic approaches have not accumulated a single controlled clinical study to sustain their assertions of effectiveness. Second although the structural and behavioral approaches have produced impressive data in favor of their efficacy, the bulk of the studies have been almost exclusively confined to a handful of disorders. Therefore, we conclude that the enthusiasm demonstrated by some clinicians toward family therapy has not been matched with rigorous and impressive data. Further research is needed to elucidate the relative assets and liabilities of the various schools of family therapy.