Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 10:12:624841.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.624841. eCollection 2021.

Multifamily Therapy for Adolescents With School Refusal: Perspectives of the Adolescents and Their Parents

Aurélie Roué  1 , Aurélie Harf  1   2   3 , Laelia Benoit  1   2   3 , Jordan Sibeoni  4   5 , Marie Rose Moro  1   2   3
Affiliations

Multifamily Therapy for Adolescents With School Refusal: Perspectives of the Adolescents and Their Parents

Aurélie Roué et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Introduction: School refusal is an important public health concern in adolescent psychiatry increasing over the past several years (5% of child and adolescent psychiatry consultations in France). Multifamily therapy has developed over 30 years. Its efficacy is validated in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry, including for children at risk of school exclusion. In this study, we aimed to explore the adolescents and their parent's experience of a multifamily therapy treatment of school refusal with a qualitative method. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study is based on an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews, participants were adolescents (n = 6) and their parents (n = 9) who experienced multifamily therapy in an adolescent department in Paris. Data analysis was performed independently by two researchers. Results: For the six families, school was a source of suffering, system paralysis and social exclusion. Families reported painful emotions and separation anxiety. For teenagers, multifamily therapy increased self-confidence and allowed group experience. For parents, it gave support and relieved from feelings of stigmatization and guilt. Parents became more aware of their adolescent's suffering and their insight. They all considered that multifamily therapy improved intra-family communication and expression of emotion. Participants highlighted the benefits of intergenerational interactions, activities, group and guidance from therapists. Discussion: Multifamily therapy uses therapeutic tools from both family therapy (joining, resonance, family competence, and metacommunication) and group therapy (use of media, identity device, and mirror reactions). Parents expect school solutions from multifamily therapy and question how psychiatric treatment can deal with school, school refusal being therefore understood as a social functioning disorder.

Keywords: adolescents; family therapy; group therapy; multifamily therapy; qualitative research; school phobia; school refusal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Holzer L, Halfon O. Le refus scolaire. Arch Pédiatr. (2006) 13:1252–8. 10.1016/j.arcped.2006.05.010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Richardson K. Family therapy for child and adolescent school refusal. Aust N Z J Fam Ther. (2016) 37:528–46. 10.1002/anzf.1188 - DOI
    1. Blandin M, Harf A, Moro MR. Le refus scolaire anxieux au risque de l'adolescence: une étude qualitative du vécu adolescent et parental. Neuropsychiatr l'Enfance l'Adolesc. (2018) 66:194–202. 10.1016/j.neurenf.2018.02.002 - DOI
    1. Gallé-Tessonneau M, Doron J, Grondin O. Des critères de repérage aux stratégies de prise en charge du refus scolaire : une revue de littérature internationale systématique. Pratiques Psychol. (2017) 23:1–19. 10.1016/j.prps.2016.03.001 - DOI
    1. Johnson AM, Falstein EI, Szurek SA, Svendsen M. School phobia. Am J Orthopsychiatry. (1941) 11:702–11. 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1941.tb05860.x65 - DOI