Focal Family Therapy

Focal family therapy refers to a short-term family therapy aimed at the relief of a single symptom. Focal family therapy does not involve long-term therapy, but is established to address a single occurrence that is predominant in the family dynamics. Though the term focal is applicable to many forms of therapy, in focal family therapy the goal is to develop a “family focus” and create a brief-focal model for the family to follow in 12 to 14 sessions. This entry briefly introduces focal family therapy as it relates to theory and technique. The entry concludes with a discussion of the focal hypothesis and establishment of focal family treatment goals.