Fathers in family therapy: Lessons from research

Treatment outcome research has shown that for 2/3 to 3/4 of cases family therapy is an effective intervention f or child focused problems (Shadish et al, 1993; Pinsof & Wynne, 1995; Carr, 1997). One factor that has consistently been shown to enhance the effectiveness of family therapy is father involvement. Where fathers do not attend at least some therapy sessions , it is more likely that the family will drop out of treatment or that therapy will not lead to problem resolution (Gurman & Kniskern, 1978; Frielander et al, 1994; Bischoff & Sprenkle, 1993). An important question arising from this finding is how best t o engage fathers in family therapy and how to create opportunities within therapy for fathers to contribute to resolving presenting problems (Berg & Rosenblum, 1977; Hecker, 1991). In this paper the implications for clinical practice of research on the rol e of fathers in families and family therapy will be explored.