Marianne Welmers

Chapter 6 146 Second, in trainingandsupervisionof (future) providersof family treatment, knowledgeon the importanceof theallianceanda focusonalliancebuildingskillsshouldbeastandardelement. Findingsof thisdissertation indicate that trainingandsupervisionmaybemoreeffectivewhen it attends to trainees’ personalityprofiles. That is, increasingself-awarenessandmonitoringof theway therapists’ neurotic, extraverted, or conscientious tendencies become toomanifest in in-session interactions, is likely to benefit their abilities to build strong alliances with family members. Another important recommendation to promote training effectiveness, is the use of video-feedback (Eubanks et al., 2015), preferably accompaniedby a structuredevaluation form to help participants focus on specific behaviors that promote strong alliances (Fukkink et al., 2011). More specifically, using the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances (SOFTA-o; Friedlander et al., 2006), also used in this dissertation, is likely to increase trainees’ conceptual, observational, and executive skills related to the alliance (Carpenter et al., 2008; Escudero et al., 2011). An important benefit of the SOFTA-o is its design, specifically for the context of systemic family treatment, providing the ability of trainingparticipants topromote systemic aspects of the alliance (i.e., familymembers’ sense of safety and shared purpose in treatment). The finding that providers of family treatment were observed to barely invest in these systemic alliance aspects (Chapter 3), underlines the need for a systemic focus on the alliance in training and supervision. Third, for policy makers and youth care organizations with a strong preference for home- based family treatment as a service for families dealing with a variety of problems, it is important to realize that building strong alliances with families in care is important as well as complex. Organizational and policy making effort to promote a context in which strong alliances with families are highly valued, andmonitoring and reflecting on alliances is both facilitated and part of ‘practice as usual’ can guide providers of family treatment in enhancing treatment outcomes by actively addressing the alliance (Jensen-Doss et al. 2018; Miller et al., 2005; Miller et al., 2018). Finally, for families receiving treatment to overcome child and parenting problems, it is important to know that experiencing a positive working relationship with the therapist helps to benefit from treatment. Although being in treatment together as a family may at times cause feelings of discomfort and tension, investing in a strong bond and collaboration on shared family goals may prove helpful in reducing child problems. A constructive way to influence the working relationship is to provide feedback on how the therapist engages different family members in the treatment process, connects with them on an emotional level and promotes the family’s collaboration on shared goals. Additionally, participating in video-observations of treatment sessions helps the therapist in reflecting and receiving direct feedback on her skills in building strongworking alliances with the family.