Triple P

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Matthew R. Sanders · Queensland, Australia

What it is

Triple P is a multilevel system of parenting support, not a single therapy. It runs from population-wide media and tip sheets (Level 1) through brief consultations and seminars, to 8–10-session parent training (Level 4) and intensive family-adjustment modules (Level 5), plus variants for teenagers,…

Format

• Level 2 – Light touch: Selected Triple P seminars (up to three seminars of 60–90 min for large groups of parents) and Brief Primary Care Triple P (a shorter primary-care consultation format delivered by Primary Care-trained practitioners; details are).
• Level 4 – Broad focus (Standard, Group, Self-Directed, Online, and variants): for moderate to severe behaviour problems. Standard: 10 sessions; Group: 5 group sessions + 3 phone consultations.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Level 3 – Narrow focus (Primary Care Triple P; Discussion Groups): Discussion Groups are single 2-hour groups (about 10 parents) on one common problem (shopping, fighting and aggression, bedtime, disobedience). Primary Care Triple P is one-to-one, 3–4 consultations of 15–30 min over 4–6 weeks, face-to-face or phone, for a specific mild, uncomplicated problem without high family stress. Sessions: (1) assessment and…
• Level 5 – Intensive family support (Enhanced, Pathways, Family Transitions, Lifestyle): added to Level 4 when family stress, partner conflict, parental mood problems, anger or maltreatment risk are present. Enhanced: 3–7 individual sessions of 60–90 min; Pathways: 2–5 group or individual sessions of 60–90 min; Family Transitions: 5 two-hour group or individual sessions; Group Lifestyle: 10 × 90-min sessions + 4 ×…
• Eight weeks: up to 12 parents per group; five 2-hour group sessions and three individual 15–30-minute phone consultations (about 20 minutes in the 2021 decision tree); parents commit to all eight. The group sessions educate and actively train skills; the phone consultations follow a self-regulatory format.

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 fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• 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

• talk only happening at conflict times.
• contradictions (shouting "stop shouting").
• high family stress or multiple problems – step up to Level 4/5.
• a plan without activities for the child (boredom is the usual trigger).
• affection given mainly after misbehaviour to calm, which can reinforce it.

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.