From CAP to CAFP: Centering the Family in Training the Next Generation of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists

• Published in: Academic psychiatry Vol. 48; no. 5; pp. 476 - 480
• Main Authors: Elzamzamy, Khalid, Kronsberg, Hal, Reynolds, Elizabeth K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-10-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescents; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Behavior modification; Behavior Problems; Caregiver Role; Caregivers; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child Health; Child Rearing; Child Role; Children & youth; Cognition & reasoning; Collaboration; Commentary; Communication; Communication Skills; Counseling; Cultural Influences; Decision Making Skills; Eating Disorders; Educational Needs; Educational Opportunities; Empowerment; Evidence Based Practice; Executive Function; Families & family life; Family Counseling; Family Environment; Family Role; Graduate Medical Education; Intervention; Is It Time to Rethink Psychiatry Residency Training?; Medical Education; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; Modeling (Psychology); Parent Caregiver Relationship; Parents & parenting; Professionals; Psychiatrists; Psychiatry; Teenagers; Therapy
• ISSN: 1042-9670; 1545-7230; 1545-7230
• DOI: 10.1007/s40596-024-01971-1

The Practice Parameter for the Assessment of the Family [1] from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) underscores the reciprocal influence of children on their families and vice versa. [...]child and adolescent psychiatrists closely examine the familial and social contexts where the child’s behaviors and “misbehaviors” manifest. [...]partial hospital programs with integrated family components reduced emergency department and acute psychiatric care service utilization following discharge [11, 12]. [...]both family assessment and family-based interventions are essential for competent and effective child psychiatric practice [1]. Despite the emphasis placed on family therapy and parenting intervention by CAP program directors [17], a survey of CAP fellowships revealed a deficiency in adequate training opportunities in family therapy, with a small number of cases, not exceeding one, in most surveyed programs [13]. [...]another study found that 71% of fellows reported behavior training, and 60% reported parent counseling among their program’s primary treatment models, ranking these approaches eighth and tenth, respectively [18]. [...]family interventions are often relegated to other professionals, such as clinical social workers and therapists, or outsourced to external health care professionals [20].