Taking therapy beyond clinics – An evaluation of family therapy training program with lay counselors

Abstract

Background: Families have been accommodating the changes to suit the present situation. Indian families even though structurally moving toward nuclear families, still carry on the values of the joint families of connectedness, interfamily influences, extended family influences on decision-making, etc., Subjects and Methods: The study aims at understanding the effectiveness of family training with lay counselors. An interview schedule was prepared to collect sociodemographic profile, knowledge about family therapy (FT), and confidence of practicing FT. The participants were enrolled for training based on ‘first come first serve’; those who completed postgraduation and PG diploma were included for the training program, and most of them were involved in the helping profession either as part of the training or service. This study was of a quasi-experimental design with assessments at two timelines – pre-post training sessions. Results: Most of them expressed that they had previously worked with families with child abuse, academic difficulties in children, marital issues, domestic violence, etc. A test of Wilcoxon's signed-rank test showed the change in the knowledge and confidence level of the trainees. Nearly 48.1% and 46.3% of the participants felt they have high and moderate skills in identifying cases that require family interventions, respectively, 70.4% said that the sessions were high in clarity, while 25.9% reported moderate clarity. Almost 68.5% expressed no difficulty in understanding sessions. This article attempts to share their experience of conducting the dissemination of systemic family intervention for the people in the service sector. It was found that the participants appreciated the training programs and were able to see the benefit of including systemic approach in their family intervention. Conclusion: This article attempts to share the experience of conducting the dissemination of systemic family intervention for the people in the service sector. It was found that the participants appreciated the training programs and were able to see the benefit of including systemic approach in their family intervention.

Keywords

• family therapy
• lay counselors
• training