Promoting Active Treatment Engagement in Child and Family Therapy

Children have considerable behavioral health need and families either do not engage in appropriate treatment or drop out early. Treatment engagement applied to families is arguably more complex than applying these strategies to adults, as there may be a number of consumers involved in the treatment of one child. Techniques for meeting this challenge are discussed from the perspective of the Stages of Change perspective and relayed in a stepped care framework. The empirical evidence base for these recommendations is reviewed.