Strengthening Families Program

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Karol Kumpfer, Virginia Molgaard · 1983 · Utah, USA

What it is

SFP is a manualised, group-based family-skills prevention programme, not a psychotherapy. Several families attend together; parents (or any regular caregiver) and children/youth meet in separate skills groups, then come together in a family session to practise the week's skills, usually around a…

Format

• Dose and format: 7 consecutive weekly 2-hour sessions. Hour 1: parents and youth in separate, video-supported groups. Hour 2: joint family session. A family meal often comes first; some sites provide childcare for younger siblings. Session 7 ends with graduation. 4 optional booster sessions,…
• Group size and staffing: 8–12 families per group (up to about 36 people). 3 trained facilitators: one for the parent group and two for the youth group, all three in the family hour. Each facilitator follows the same 3–4 families every week during family activities. Foundations instead describes two…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Fidelity and certification: to deliver under the programme's name you need ISU/partner certification. That means a 3-day facilitator training (attendance at every full day is required) for facilitators, coordinators, on-site arrangers and fidelity observers. Use only the official facilitator manual, DVD set and poster set bought from ISU Extension and Outreach. All 7 sessions must be delivered, 2 hours each, weekly.…
• Session structure (group version, as CEBC describes it): family meal (about 30 min), with facilitators seated among families to coach positive responses and check home practice → separate parent and child/teen classes (about 50 min). Each class runs welcome, review, home-practice check, objectives, new content, experiential practice and new home practice → family practice class (about 45 min) → a consistent closing…
• Training and fidelity: onsite training for 5–35 trainees, 2 days in the US and 2.5–3 days internationally. Fidelity checklists come through the developer's evaluation contract or site visits. Detailed manuals allow trained paraprofessionals, interns and students to deliver it under a site coordinator (bachelor's level or above). Cultural adaptation of language, examples and exercises by culturally knowledgeable…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• youth left out. Use mixed teams.
• praise that turns into a lecture.
• long lists. Encourage a few clear rules.
• disclosures that suggest a risk of harm (see section 5).
• competitiveness. Keep the debrief on the purpose of rules.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.