Family-Centered Care in Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Mental Health Treatment in the United States: A Case Study.

BACKGROUND

Social isolation, national turmoil, and an adolescent mental health crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a significant uptick in inpatient admissions and re-admissions for high-risk patients. This trend persists even as the pandemic wanes. Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) serve as a critical steppingstone between the community and inpatient mental health services, providing comprehensive psychiatric care for at-risk youth. Significant research has identified family engagement as a key element of successful collaborative care in adolescents.

OBJECTIVES

This article provides models of family-centered care in the adolescent IOP through a case study detailing the six-week course of care of an adolescent struggling with increased emotionality and distress intolerance in the context of family conflicts.

METHODS

This case highlights five family engagement components, including (1) family-centered psychiatric medication management, (2) individualized case management, parental education, and peer support, (3) Measurement Based Care (MBC) family assessment and feedback sessions, (4) Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) multi-family skill groups, and (5) Compassionate Home Action Together () family intervention to address teen-parent relational health and communication.

RESULTS

This case showed improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms, family conflict behaviors, self-reported suicide risk, and help-seeking attitudes towards parents/adults. The case family, along with others (n = 26), endorsed the parent peer support groups' acceptability and feasibility implemented in the adolescent IOP.

CONCLUSIONS

This article emphasizes the importance of family engagement during clinical care and provides a practical guide to implement collaborative family-centered therapeutic interventions in intensive outpatient services.