FFT – Teams

An FFT team consists of 3 to 6 FFT-trained family therapists who form a team under the responsible team supervisor. The American program developer LLC recommends an FFT team size of 4 to 6 therapists, as the team thus benefits most from internal sparring and joint weekly consultation. During the actual treatment of the family, the therapists work individually with the family. During an FFT course, the therapist will hold around 12 – 30 sessions with the family. The number of sessions varies in relation to the severity of the family and the young person’s problems. A full-time FFT therapist can treat up to 8 to 10 families at a time and approximately 16 to 25 families annually. It is recommended, but not a requirement, that FFT therapists work full-time with functional family therapy, especially in the first year, as the method is learned best and fastest by working intensively with it. During the treatment course, the therapists must be available to the families if crises arise. Each FFT team uses a web-based data processing system, CSS, which ensures method fidelity and quality in the treatment. The treatment is systematically documented on all families every week, and is followed up by supervision and consultation. At the end of a course, a thorough discharge report is prepared with clinical evaluation of the effort and with documentation of the treatment results based on clearly described goals.

 

Purchasing treatment from an FFT team

 

An FFT treatment lasts 3 to 6 months. The price may vary slightly from team to team, but compared to alternative forms of treatment such as out-of-home placements, FFT has lower costs. A placement for a young person lasts an average of 20 months and costs an average of DKK 2,810 per day, which is over DKK 1.6 million for one treatment (Krevi, 2010: “Offers and expenses for vulnerable children and young people”). When establishing an FFT team in a municipality, neighboring municipalities will also have the opportunity to cooperate in purchasing places from the existing team.