The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Ecologically-Based Family Therapy (EBFT) program has been rated by the CEBC in the area of: Substance Abuse Treatment (Adolescent).

• Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being
• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Substance-abusing runaway adolescents (12-17) and their family members who are willing to have the adolescents live in their homes.

EBFT addresses multiple ecological systems and originated from the therapeutic work with substance-abusing adolescents who have run away from home. The treatment was developed to address immediate needs, to resolve the crisis of running away, and to facilitate emotional re-connection through communication and problem solving skills among family members. Family interaction is a necessary target of the therapeutic techniques. Therapy relies on understanding the individual, interpersonal, and environmental context as well as the unique resources and needs of the family and its members. The intervention includes family systems techniques such as reframes, relabels, and relational interpretations; communication skills training; and conflict resolution, but also therapeutic case management in which systems outside the family are directly targeted. The model includes 12 home-based (or office-based) family therapy sessions and 2-4 individual HIV prevention sessions.