Summary:
This study examined how frequently family-based treatments (FBTs) are used in U.S. substance use disorder (SUD) treatment centers and what characteristics of centers are associated with offering these services. Family-based treatments — which involve family members or significant others in care — have been shown to improve engagement and outcomes for people with SUD compared with individual-only approaches, but there has been little research on how widely they’re actually used in real-world treatment settings.
Using data from a national survey of 325 treatment centers collected in 2009–2010, the authors found that about 75% of centers reported offering some form of family-based treatment. On average, roughly 38% of clients’ families participated when FBT was available. However, only a small portion of centers offered specific evidence-based family therapy models such as Brief Strategic Family Therapy (≈11%) or Multisystemic Therapy (≈14%).
Centers that offered FBT tended to have higher involvement in individual therapy and 12-step programs, followed clinical guidelines (e.g., ASAM criteria), and relied more on private insurance rather than Medicaid. Conversely, centers with more clients who were unemployed or involved with the criminal justice system were less likely to provide FBT. The authors highlight the importance of expanding access to evidence-based family interventions in SUD treatment and call for updated research to understand how FBT relates to treatment outcomes and equitable care.