Evidence of the benefits of family and systemic psychotherapy

Studies prove that systemic and family psychotherapy is as effective – and in many cases more effective – than other ways to treat some mental health conditions.

Family and systemic psychotherapy is the recommended treatment for many mental health conditions, including eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and severe depression in adolescence.

In fact, 652 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend family therapy as a preferred treatment. This is compared to 126 that recommend cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). NICE guidelines are key to helping professionals make decisions about treatments, medicines and services in England and Wales.

Research has shown that family and systemic psychotherapy helps children and adults who have a mental health diagnosis or who are experiencing more general or complex distress. It’s effective for different age groups, from under-5s to older people.

The Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre

The Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre collates and shares research on the effectiveness of family and systemic therapy.

The Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre’s website is hosted by the Tavistock Education & Training and the North London NHS Foundation Trust.

The website is a useful resource for people considering family and systemic therapy, psychotherapists, researchers, students, commissioners and policy makers.

On the site, you’ll find valuable resources including:

• Evaluation and outcome studies, providing evidence for the effectiveness of family and systemic therapy
• Process research, providing practice-based evidence that family and systemic therapy works. This includes methods that analyse therapy sessions and ask therapists and clients about their experience of therapy and the process of change
• Relevant research arranged into a wide range of categories, from adolescents to trauma
• Research arranged by method
• Links to research arranged by what type of therapeutic approach has been used
• Doctorate theses and masters research dissertations
• Links to systemic researchers and research centres in the UK and internationally, highlighting their key research interests

The centre also circulates new research, information on research conferences, and calls for papers, research partnerships and participants. To keep up to date with research from the centre, you can join their mailing list on their website.