Integrative Families and Systems Treatment: a middle path toward integrating common and specific factors in evidence-based family therapy.

A moderate common factors approach is proposed as a synthesis or middle path to integrate common and specific factors in evidence-based approaches to high-risk youth and families. The debate in family therapy between common and specific factors camps is reviewed and followed by suggestions from the literature for synthesis and creative flexibility in manual development. A preliminary integrative model termed Integrative Family and Systems Treatment is offered as one option in developing and testing a moderate common factors approach.

Key processes, ingredients and components of successful systems collaboration: working with severely emotionally or behaviorally disturbed children and their families.

Systems collaboration has repeatedly been cited as a component of successful social service delivery. Through qualitative data, this study explored the process involved in inter-agency collaboration when providing Integrative Family and Systems Treatment (I-FAST) for families with severely emotionally or behaviorally disturbed children. Data were collected through a series of eight focus groups with 26 agency collaborators across 11 counties in Ohio.