River Oak Center for Children: Functional Family Therapy

When we first met 17-year-old Mariana, she appeared to be spiraling down a path of no return.

Mariana was living in a very chaotic world. She lived at home with her mother, and the two would constantly have heated and volatile arguments. She vandalized property on a regular basis and
became involved with probation. She was a heavy abuser of drugs and alcohol, ran away from
home frequently, and was failing at school. She didn't care much about anything and often thought about suicide.

River Oak's Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program was there to help. FFT helps youth
11-18 years of age who struggle with delinquency, violence, substance use, conduct and defiance issues, or disruptive behavior. The program's goals are to decrease family negativity and hostility,
child behavior problems, and out-of-home placement and to increase parenting skills and positive
family interaction.

Through their FFT sessions, Mariana and her mother learned ways to negotiate, problem solve,
and give feedback without their conversations escalating into angry or violent outbursts. FFT staff helped Mariana enroll in Another Choice/Another Chance drug program and she began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Her destruction of property has decreased, she drastically
reduced her frequency of substance use, and she no longer tries to run away from home.
Mariana is now off probation and is maintaining her behavior changes!

FFT is offered in the office, school, home, juvenile court, and/or within community-based
settings. Sessions include as many members of the family as appropriate and are typically
held once a week for 60-90 minutes over a three month period. Youth eligible for FFT are
receiving services from River Oak and are referred by a River Oak clinical team member.