Loma Linda University
Behavioral Medicine Center news
August 27, 1998 [TODAY, August 27, 1998]
Multi-family group program offers powerful solutions
A component of the adolescent intensive outpatient program
at Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center is making strides
in fostering healing and recovery for its patients.
The program is called the multi-family group. It is a gathering for teens
and families who meet twice a week to confront issues in their lives necessary
to their recovery. The group is unique because its format is the key to
its success.
Teens take turns sitting in the midst of the group surrounded by other
teens and family members. They face their parent or parents and are encouraged
to express themselves in a way that is honest and yet protected. Many
teens feel that this format allows them to say anything they wish in an
environment that, for many, is unavailable at home.
It is an Òin your faceÓøalmost harshøway to confront painful issues, but
it works. According to Susan Diehl, MSW, adolescent intensive outpatient
program coordinator, Behavioral Medicine Center, this program really exposes
truth.
ÒThis format has existed for a time, but only at the BMC has it been modified
to fit adolescents. For many families, this confrontation is wrought with
mixed feelings. Many parents have to deal with the painful reality that
the problem is not just their childÕs alone and is, in fact, a family
issue. They are forced to deal truthfully with issues that they may have
never wanted brought out into the open,Ó says Ms. Diehl.
At the same time, being in the midst of families who may be going through
the same issues gives each participant a sense of comfort knowing that
someone else understands. This program helps parents and teens alike to
realize that their problems belong to the whole family and because of
that, the whole family must work together to change the situation. For
facilitators of the program, such as Ms. Diehl and her colleagues, the
group sessions can be draining.
However, according to Ms. Diehl, watching the changes taking place and
the rebuilding of lives and families makes it all worthwhile. Many parents
and kids often return to talk to other families to let them know the program
works and that having normal, happy lives again is indeed possible.
This program is life-changing because families are taught skills that
can be taken into the work- place, home, used for other children, and
facilitate the lifestyle changes that are often the only way to see that
something like this never happens again.
The program has about a 70 percent success rate. Most failures are attributed
to parents and children pulling out of the group and not carrying through
with the therapy. But when a family sticks to the program, the results
are amazing.
For further information on the adolescent intensive outpatient program,
please contact Ms. Diehl at (909) 558-9288.
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