FOCUS (Families Overcoming Under Stress) is a family-level resiliency training program designed to assist families experiencing high levels of stress and to prevent greater problems from occurring in the face of further stressors.[1][2]
FOCUS is based on leading evidence-based family intervention models for at-risk families, and aims to strengthen family cohesion and parent-child, marital, and co-parenting relationships. FOCUS is structured around families’ development of a shared understanding of past experiences, as well as skill building in the areas of emotional regulation, communication, problem solving, goal setting, and managing trauma and loss reminders.[3][4]
The core component of the FOCUS intervention is a six to eight session skills training program, with specific parent-only sessions, child-only sessions, and sessions including the whole family.[5] When possible, both parents participate in the program; it can be conducted with one member participating long distance.[6]
The FOCUS intervention has been adapted for use with a variety of populations experiencing family stressors and is utilized in an array of settings across the United States and in Japan.[7]
FOCUS for Military Families, designed to address the stress of an increased operational tempo and multiple deployments on military families,[8] is currently offered at 18 U.S. military sites.[9] FOCUS offers several adaptations of the intervention, each of which uses the same core set of skills and the creation of a family narrative to assist military families facing challenges.[10][11] FOCUS works with couples to increase their communication skills and understanding of each other’s experiences.[12][13] When working with families with kids ages 3 to 5, FOCUS focuses on bolstering parenting skills and building parents’ understanding of their child’s reactions to stressors.[14] When working with combat injured soldiers and their families, the FOCUS intervention helps families adjust to the specific changes and challenges that accompany combat injury.[15][16] Parts of the FOCUS curriculum are also utilized with the National Military Family Association’s Operation Purple Family Retreats, a program that provides four-day retreats to recently reunited military families.[17]
In addition to its use with military families, FOCUS has been utilized in two Southern California Children’s Hospitals to address the needs of children and families facing a variety of types of trauma (e.g., severe illness, violence, or traumatic loss).[18] FOCUS has also been used to help disaster relief workers workers and thei families grow stronger in the face of some of the challenges they face.[19]
References
edit- ^ http://www.focusproject.org
- ^ http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/05/20/10176/program-helping-families-weather.html
- ^ http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/05/20/10176/program-helping-families-weather.html
- ^ http://www.usmedicine.com/articles/if-researchers-can-understand-the-damage-being-done-to-a-family-then-logic-suggests-there-must-be-treatments.html
- ^ http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=403&action=detail&ref=1053
- ^ http://www.focusproject.org
- ^ http://www.focusproject.org
- ^ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/US-Navy-UCLA-FOCUS-on-Supporting-Military-Families-05500/
- ^ http://www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com/single-view/us-military-succeeds-with-family-based-resiliency-training/fda71cedf1.html
- ^ http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/05/20/10176/program-helping-families-weather.html
- ^ http://www.usmedicine.com/articles/if-researchers-can-understand-the-damage-being-done-to-a-family-then-logic-suggests-there-must-be-treatments.html
- ^ http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/05/20/10176/program-helping-families-weather.html
- ^ http://www.semel.ucla.edu/focus
- ^ http://www.semel.ucla.edu/focus
- ^ http://www.semel.ucla.edu/focus
- ^ http://www.usmedicine.com/articles/helping-servicemembers-with-injuries-and-their-families-to-better-reintegrate-following-a-deployment.html
- ^ http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/military_familycamps_090309w/
- ^ http://www.semel.ucla.edu/focus
- ^ http://www.semel.ucla.edu/focus