Community-Embedded Family Therapy: Adapting and Testing Family-Based Therapy in Kenya
OVERVIEW
This project, co-led by Drs. Eve Puffer and David Ayuku, adapted and tested a family-strengthening intervention for caregivers and youth in Kenya,, as well as contextually-relevant measures of family functioning and mental health. Grounded in problem solving, cognitive-behavioral and family systems therapies, the intervention focused on improving caregiver mental health, reducing harsh parenting, and strengthening family relationships as protective factors for children with the whole family through trained natural counselors. In parallel, we developed culturally grounded tools to measure family functioning and mental health where standard measures may miss the mark including developing and testing of an observational tool to assess family dynamics in ways that reflect local norms.
KENYA
Project Goals
COLLABORATE
Co-designed a culturally-anchored evidence based family therapy.
EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS
Evaluate the family therapy as well as delivery by natural counselors.
STRENGTHEN
Reduce harsh parenting, strengthen positive parenting, and improve communication within families.
TARGET
Prevent the onset of youth mental health and behavioral problems by targeting upstream family-level risk and protective factors.
TEST
Developed and test culturally grounded measurement tools.
Turning Community Insight Into Measurable Impact
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Co-designed and tested a family-based intervention delivered by natural counselors that supported caregiver well-being, reduced harsh parenting, and strengthened family relationships and individual mental health.
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Demonstrated proof-of-concept for community-embedded service delivery.
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Advanced family systems measurement, validating an observational tool of family functioning for lay delivery.
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Giusto, A., Johnson, S., Lovero, K., Rono, W., Wainberg, M., Ayuku, D., & Puffer, E. S. (2021). Building community-based helping practices by training peer-father counselors: conducting a novel intervention to reduce drinking and depressed mood among fathers through a healthy masculinity lens. International Journal of Drug Policy.
Puffer, E., Giusto, A., Rieder, A., Friis, E., Ayuku, D., Green, E. (2021). Development of the Family Togetherness Scale: A Mixed-Methods Validation Study in Kenya. Frontiers in Psychology.
Giusto, A., Friis, E., Kaiser, B.N., Ayuku, D., Rono, W., & Puffer, E.S. (2022) Mechanisms of change for a family therapy intervention in Kenya: Using a novel Integrated Clinical and Implementation Mapping approach. Behavior Research and Therapy.