Strengthening Family Connections
How Attachment-Based Family Therapy Works
At Newport, family counseling is a foundational element of our clinical model, supporting loved ones to build closer, more meaningful relationships with one another.
Rebuilding Relationships and Communication
Family counseling addresses past traumas and attachment wounds, with the support of licensed therapists who specialize in this work. At Newport, we use the empirically validated Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) modality as a foundational element of our clinical approach.
Family therapy is a core component of our children’s and teen program at Newport Academy. For young adults at Newport Institute, participation in family therapy is optional, depending on their life circumstances and goals for treatment.
Family Therapy as a Powerful Component of Integrated Care
At Newport, ABFT is part of our integrated, multidisciplinary clinical model, which also includes:
- Psychiatric care and medication management
- Individual and group therapy using a variety of modalities
- Academics with an accredited program and specialized teachers
- Life skills training and vocational support for young adults
- Experiential activities, including music and art therapy, outdoor adventures, and more
Strengthening
Family Connection
See how family therapy helps rebuild trust and connection between our clients and their loved ones in just a few weeks.
How ABFT Helps Families
Newport’s therapists are trained by a Certified ABFT Trainer and Supervisor, and receive ongoing supervision. ABFT is designed to:
- Reduce adolescent and young adult depression and suicidality by strengthening the caregiver-child relationship
- Establish family as a strong support system for young people, so they can turn to them when struggling
- Repair attachment wounds between a teen or young adult and their parents/ caregivers, which may have occurred in childhood or that developed as a result of mental health issues
We want the families to be actively engaged throughout the treatment process because we know that they are part of the medicine. If love was enough, no child would suffer. It’s not about love. It’s about the connection and the internal components of what is going on for the client and within their family system.
Samantha
Quigneaux
LMFT
National Director of Family Therapy Services
,
Newport Healthcare
What to Expect During Family Therapy at Newport
ABFT is structured in five specific tasks that are undertaken sequentially throughout the therapeutic process. Each task has clear goals and strategies that together provide a road map to healing and recovery.
The Five Tasks of Attachment-Based Family Therapy
Task 1: Relational Reframe
Task 1 shifts the family’s outlook from the child as the “problem” to the family as the solution. Family strengths and relational ruptures are highlighted, while an agreement is established with each family member to work on developing a more meaningful relationship.
Task 2: Adolescent Alliance
In the Adolescent Alliance task, the clinician builds the therapeutic alliance with the young person, identifying breaches of trust, accessing vulnerable emotions, and connecting mental health to underlying emotions and ruptures. Clients are supported to build emotional regulation skills in order to respond to parents’ disappointment in a regulated and calm manner.
Task 3: Parent Alliance
This task focuses on building therapeutic alliance between clinician and the parent(s), supporting parents to connect their early childhood ruptures to their emotions at the time, and relating those to their child’s experience. Parents are emotionally coached to listen and validate their child’s experience as they prepare for Task 4.
Task 4: Repairing Attachment Ruptures
In this phase, the therapist facilitates a conversation between the client and their parents/loved ones, supporting the client to express disappointments and vulnerable feelings while coaching parents to validate with empathy and understanding. The client practices emotional regulation skills, while the parents practice emotionally focused parenting skills.
Task 5: Promoting Autonomy
The final task builds teen and young adult competencies as a buffer against identified stressors contributing to depression and suicidality. Cooperation emerges from the desire to maintain connection. This may include the creation of a mutually agreed-upon family agreement with age-appropriate expectations and consequences.
Family-Focused Care at Newport
At Newport, we are dedicated to providing the highest-quality care for young people, while healing the entire family.
Our teen treatment program, Newport Academy, and our young adult program, Newport Institute, are the first residential treatment programs to adopt Attachment-Based Family Therapy as a family therapy model and to fully integrate ABFT activities into our clinical programming.
If a loved one is experiencing anxiety, depression, substance use challenges, eating disorders, or other mental health conditions, and your family needs support, please reach out to us today.
Frequently Asked Questions
ABFT is a therapeutic approach designed to improve family relationships and emotional well-being by focusing on the attachment bonds between family members. It aims to repair and strengthen these bonds, particularly in families with adolescents experiencing emotional distress, depression, or suicidal ideation.
While traditional family therapy may address communication and conflict resolution, ABFT specifically emphasizes the role of attachment in family dynamics. It focuses on understanding and enhancing emotional connections, addressing attachment-related issues, and fostering secure relationships among family members.
ABFT sessions typically involve the therapist working with the family as a whole, as well as individual sessions with family members. The therapist facilitates discussions about emotions, attachment experiences, and relational patterns, guiding family members to express their feelings and work towards understanding and healing their relationships.
Families participating in ABFT can expect improved communication, enhanced emotional understanding, and stronger attachment bonds. Many families report reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents, increased family cohesion, and a greater ability to navigate conflicts and challenges together.
