Family Check-Up

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Thomas Dishion, Elizabeth Stormshak · University of Oregon, USA

What it is

The FCU is a brief, strengths-based, family-centred check-up for families with children aged 2–17, especially children at risk of behaviour problems. It is a framework more than a fixed course of therapy. A short assessment-and-feedback routine, modelled on the Drinker's Check-Up, decides whether a…

Format

• Session 1, initial interview. Goals: build rapport, explore strengths, concerns and motivation, explain the FCU and its rationale, answer questions, then link the interview to the assessment and book it. The parent leaves feeling understood, with goals and motivation clarified.
• Session 2, ecological assessment. Multi-method and multi-context. It uses parent questionnaires (about self and family, and about the child, in age-banded versions for 2–5, 6–10 and 11–17), a youth self-report for ages 11–17, teacher ratings, and 3–5 videotaped Family Interaction Tasks of about 3–5…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Phase 1: the check-up (three sessions, about 1 hour each, 1–2 weeks apart)
• Options include monthly follow-up support, individual parent training or family management therapy (Everyday Parenting), school consultation, family or child therapy, and community referral.
• Format and staffing: individual family sessions, delivered at home, clinic, school, primary care or community centre. Everyday Parenting can also be run as parent groups. Master's-level providers are recommended. Bachelor's-level staff or paraprofessionals can deliver it with more supervision. MI training is recommended.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• 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?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• 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

• Discouragement. Affirm the effort and shrink the step.
• The parent overriding the young person, or vice versa.
• Too many "red" areas. Prioritise; do not list everything.
• Practice that never happens between sessions (see Section 5).
• Problems that are getting worse. Offer more intensive options.

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.