Medical Family Therapy

Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) is the collaboration among mental health care and medical health care providers who may be practicing in the same facility for the purpose of providing patient-care. A MedFT works with other healthcare providers to assess, diagnose, and treat patients and their families in areas of health, illness, and trauma.
Providers from different mental health-related disciplines who practice Medical Family Therapy have a background and/or were trained in Marriage and family therapy, psychology, social work, psychiatry, to name a few. Preliminary research suggests that MedFT competencies include being an effective collaborator, comfortable with educating him/herself in other disciplines’ research and literature, versed on current research related to clinical work, educated on human physiology, pharmacology, informed in general medical knowledge, and working from a biopsychosocial model and spiritual (BPS-S) perspective and systems theory.
History
Initially coined by Susan McDaniel, Jeri Hepworth, and Bill Doherty in 1992, the field of MedFT evolved to include a spiritual dimension—Biopsychosocial-Spiritual (BPSS). Although this is inherent in the biopsychosocial approach, the addition of the “spiritual” component endorses and creates an emphasis in the whole-person approach.
Clinical approach
MedFTs treat a variety of issues that interfere with a patient’s life, particularly as it relates to his or her ability to manage their health. For example, MedFTs are effective with treating a co-morbid condition, e.g., depression is getting in the way of the individual to effectively manage their diabetes. Mental health related issues that MedFTs can help with include but are not limited to Anxiety Disorders (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, etc.), Depressive Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders, Bipolar and Related Disorders , Substance Use Disorders, behavioral issues in children/parenting support, and general life stressors. MedFTs incorporate Behavioral Medicine such as smoking cessation, sleep hygiene, lifestyle behavioral change (exercise, eating, etc.) through patient activation, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, etc. Treatment approaches used by MedFTs are collaborative and evidence-based, and include Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT, Aaron T. Beck), Solution Focused Therapy, etc.
Treatment modalities include individual sessions and/or group medical visits. Sessions are not a traditional psychotherapy hour, i.e., 50-minutes in length and individuals are seen every week and for years. Instead, sessions are time-limited and range from 15-30 minutes (sometimes less than 15 minutes if the MedFT is working alongside a physician as a consultant), held once every two weeks, and maximum number of visits is usually six. Sessions could also include the MedFT and physician working alongside each other so that a patient is getting comprehensive care.
Employment opportunities
Most MedFTs stay within the medical field and work within an integrated care setting. However, MedFTs are able to work in a range of settings and with varying populations. Depending on the level of training, MedFTs may be employed as Behavioral Science Faculty in residencies and/or teaching within Psychiatry, medical schools, nursing programs, master/doctoral level mental health-related programs that have a MedFT focus. MedFTs may assume a role as researcher, clinician, educator, and/or active within policy.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu