Three key factors differentiate FCT from other models:
1. FCT is not limited by a client focus…it is family-centered.
2. FCT is the only model of in-home family preservation to employ the IFCS Family Centered Evaluation (FCE).
3. Provision of FCT is regulated through an efficient and effective system of compliance and
competency assessment.
1. FCT is not limited by a client focus…it is family-centered.
The distinctive aspect of FCT that differentiates it from traditional in-home therapy or counseling
is that it is family rather than client focused. FCT can be used to address the challenges of family
systems that are struggling with issues ranging from children and youth with behavioral problems, to
families facing long-term needs of a family member due to organic/genetic or accident handicaps. FCT
places family members in a position to practice behaving differently as they seek to change how they
handle the tasks of daily living that are presently difficult or have created additional burdens and
problems for the family. The result is that all family members discover methods that prevent their
being “enveloped” by the “problems and difficulties” of the identified patient. As result (and
somewhat ironically), FCT has been proven in some instances to be effective in creating change in
family systems with minimal contact with the identified client or patient. (Back to Top)
2. FCT is the only model of in-home family preservation to employ the IFCS Family Centered Evaluation
(FCE).
The FCT model utilizes IFCS’ unique Family Centered Evaluation (FCE) to assess the strengths and
challenges of the family system. The three major components of the FCE provide 1) an assessment of
each family member’s place and functioning in the family, 2) an appraisal of the family’s current
status in the stages of family life, and 3) a generational look at the normative behaviors of the
nuclear family.
The focus of the three step evaluation process is to provide information resources that are critical
to the development of an effective treatment plan that will facilitate a paradigm shift for the
parental and family system. This shift or change manifests itself in a family-wide adjustment of
perception in identifying the primary problem. The FCE enables the family to move from placing
blame, or identifying a single member of the family as the problem, to that of owning the need
for change as a family and/or parental system.
Upon commencement of services, FCT utilizes the evaluation information to provide families with a
change process for handling the definitive issues of family functioning. Working with the family
in how they handle communication, conflict, the tasks of daily living, and realization of their
needs for attention, closeness and affection becomes the practical basis for enabling change. FCT
is counter to the traditional psychoanalytic therapy approaches that deal with what happened “then
and there.” FCT engages the family in the “here and now,” utilizing real life problems and daily
living tasks to create change. The family receives guided practice in meeting their needs for
communication, conflict, and closeness through new, more effective means as they seek to change
previously destructive patterns. (Back to Top)
3. Provision of FCT is regulated through an efficient and effective system of compliance and
competency assessment.
Research statistics for a model of practice are meaningless if uniform application of the model
across a client population cannot be guaranteed. The Institute for Family Centered Services is
a leader among in-home family preservation services providers in the development of training
curricula, compliance standards, and information systems for the purpose of maintaining the
universal integrity of the Family Centered Treatment model.
Family Centered Treatment ™ is taught to IFCS staff through an intensive 12-week training and
orientation curriculum entitled “Wheels of Change©.” This dynamic education program includes
tools and resources tailored to various learning styles and clinical backgrounds. Wheels of
Change program completion requires demonstration of competency in core skill areas related to
service delivery, documentation, ethics and more, prior to the end of the original employee
probationary period. As a complement to the demanding Wheels of Change training program, IFCS
sought and received approval as a provider of continuing education activities for the National
Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC).
Supervision, field observation, and standardized outcome procedures are the essential tools used
by IFCS to assure compliance with the tenets of FCT practice. Other models of behavioral health
treatment that have been developed within a university or agency setting and have been taught to
providers, practitioners, or agencies have minimal methods for assuring practice fidelity. The
assessment of competence in the execution of the model and the assurance of faithfulness to the
model over time are dependant upon the practitioner’s or organization’s adoption of the model and
development of an organizational infrastructure to monitor delivery of the model. This
infrastructure includes not only a method or system for training, but also methods to measure
integration and assess competence of the staff in delivery of the model. Other models lack some
or all of these components, especially when the model has been sold or trained to personnel beyond
the founding organization.
IFCS has invested heavily in information systems technology for the provision and recording of
the Wheels of Change training program. These systems include a custom database management system
integrated across company regions for recording employee training and credential information. In
addition, web-based systems for online education and training tracking are available through the
company’s secure intranet. Supplemental training curricula are available to all staff 24/7 in
digital format for at-your-own-pace self-study for continuing education and personal development
after completion of the Wheels of Change program. (Back to Top)
Copyright © Institute for Family Centered Services 2007
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