A targeted indicated intervention for children aged 5 to 18 years whose parent(s) has/have a mental health diagnosis (typically anxiety or depression) and/or are in contact with mental health services. It is delivered by clinicians to individual families in approximately seven sessions, each of which lasts approximately one hour (or six to nine hours in total).
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
5 to 18 years old
Individual, Group
Family Talk (FT) is a targeted-indicated intervention for children aged 5 to 18 years whose parent(s) has/have a mental health diagnosis (typically anxiety or depression) and/or are in contact with mental health services. FT is delivered mainly in the home or in out-patient health settings.
It is a strengths-based, psycho-educational, whole-family approach with the aim to support healthy parent–child relationships in the context of mental illness. Specifically, it is designed to enhance family communication and understanding of parental mental illness, improve family interpersonal relationships, and promote child resilience and utilisation of social supports.
Family Talk is delivered by clinicians to individual families in approximately seven sessions, each of which lasts approximately one hour (or six to nine hours in total). As a flexible intervention, the learning methods and activities may change depending on the needs of each family. Basic learning methods include:
FT may involve group discussion, role-play, homework assignments, and use of video vignettes.
5 to 18 years
Children with parents who have mental health diagnoses and/or are in contact with mental health services
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
Children with parents who experience mental illness may be at higher risk of negative outcomes, including mental health problems.
Science-based assumption
Increased knowledge and understanding of parental mental illness, improved family communication, and problem-solving, and better family functions can reduce the risks of negative child outcomes from parental mental illness.
Science-based assumption
Children with parents who have mental health diagnoses and/or are in contact with mental health services.
Intervention
Children and parents learn to talk about parental mental illness, develop a shared understanding of the impact of parental mental illness on parenting, children and the family as a whole, access support for the child if required, and develop strategies to strengthen child and family resilience and wellbeing.
Short-term
The parent is educated about their illness and its impact on their dependent child(ren)
Improved child understanding of their experience
Improved family communication and interactions.
Medium-term
Improved family communication and functioning
Improved family resilience.
Long-term
Reduced child negative mental health outcomes.
Children with parents who have mental health diagnoses and/or are in contact with mental health services.
Family Talk is delivered by clinicians to individual families in approximately seven sessions, each of which lasts approximately one hour (or six to nine hours in total).
As a flexible intervention, the learning methods and activities may change depending on the needs of each family. Basic learning methods include:
Practitioners who deliver this intervention need at least three years’ experience in working with adult or child mental health and/or child welfare and protection services. They normally include appropriately trained Social Workers, Family Therapists, Psychologists, Mental Health Nurses, and Occupational Therapists.
Practitioners need to complete an online training course that takes approximately 10 hours to complete. Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
Practitioners are normally supervised by a colleague someone in a managerial position who has also completed the online Family Talk training. Supervision meetings should be held every 4-6 weeks and supervision time/input may vary from take 4-14hours in total during FT delivery.
Intervention fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
Organisation: Emerging Minds
Email address: info@emergingminds.com.au
Website: https://emergingminds.com.au/
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
Family Talk’s most rigorous evidence comes from two RCTs which were conducted in Ireland and in Finland, consistent with Foundations’ Level 3 and Level 2+ evidence strength thresholds, respectively.
They observed improvements in child emotional wellbeing, prosocial behaviour, and reduced behaviour problems, compared to the control group.
Family Talk can be described as evidence-based: it has evidence from at least one rigorously conducted RCT or QED demonstrating a statistically significant positive impact on at least one child outcome, along with one additional comparison group study.
| Identified in search | 6 |
| Studies reviewed | 6 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 1 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 1 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 4 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sample characteristics | 83 families, with children between 5 and 18 years old, with at least one parent with a diagnosis of mental illness or receiving support from their GP for mental illness, across 10 sites |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | Not reported |
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | Improved child behaviour |
| Other outcomes | Improved family functioning |
| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Furlong, M., McGuinness, C., Mulligan, C., McGarr, S. & McGilloway, S. (2024) Family Talk versus usual services in improving child and family psychosocial functioning in families with parental mental illness: a randomised controlled trial and cost analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 15. The Guidebook rating was originally given on the basis of an unpublished manuscript and protocol, but the information here has been taken from the published study (Furlong et al., 2024). McGilloway, S., Furlong, M., Mulligan, C., McGarr, S., McGuinness, C., O’Connor, S. & Whelan, N. (2022) PRIMERA research briefing report. Centre for Mental Health and Community Research, Maynooth University Department of Psychology and Social Sciences Institute. Furlong, M., McGilloway, S., Mulligan, C., McGuinness, C. & Whelan, N. (2021) Family Talk versus usual services in improving child and family psychosocial functioning in families with parental mental illness (PRIMERA—Promoting Research and Innovation in Mental Health Services for families and children): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 22 (1), 1–18. |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | Finland |
| Sample characteristics | 119 families, with children between 8 and 16 years old, with at least one parent in treatment for affective disorder |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities | Finns |
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes |
|
| Other outcomes | None |
| Study rating | 2+ |
| Citations | Study 2a: Solantaus, T., Paavonen, E. J., Toikka, S. & Punamäki, R. L. (2010) Preventive interventions in families with parental depression: Children’s psychosocial symptoms and prosocial behaviour. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 19 (12), 883–892. Study 2b: Punamäki, R. L., Paavonen, J., Toikka, S. & Solantaus, T. (2013) Effectiveness of preventive family intervention in improving cognitive attributions among children of depressed parents: a randomized study. Journal of Family Psychology. 27 (4), 683. |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Beardslee, W. R., Ayoub, C., Avery, M. W., Watts, C. L. & O’Carroll, K. L. (2010) Family Connections: An approach for strengthening early care systems in facing depression and adversity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 80 (4), 482’
Beardslee, W. R., Wright, E. J., Gladstone, T. R. & Forbes, P. (2007) Long-term effects from a randomized trial of two public health preventive interventions for parental depression. Journal of Family Psychology. 21 (4), 703.
Beardslee, W. R., Gladstone, T. R., Wright, E. J. & Cooper, A. B. (2003) ‘A family-based approach to the prevention of depressive symptoms in children at risk: Evidence of parental and child change. Pediatrics. 112 (2), e119–e131.
Beardslee, W. R., Swatling, S., Hoke, L., Rothberg, P. C., Velde, P. V. D., Focht, L. & Podorefsky, D. (1998) From cognitive information to shared meaning: Healing principles in prevention intervention. Psychiatry. 61 (2), 112–129.
Beardslee, W. R., Wright, E., Salt, P., Gladstone, T. R. G., Versage, E. & Rothberg, P. C. (1997a) Examination of children’s responses to two preventive intervention strategies over time. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 36, 196–204.
Beardslee, W., Salt, P., Versage, E., Gladstone, T., Wright, E. & Rothberg, P. (1997b) Sustained change in parents receiving preventive interventions for families with depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 154, 510–515.
Beardslee, W. R., Versage, E. M., Wright, E. J., Salt, P., Rothberg, P. C., Drezner, K. & Gladstone, T. R. G. (1997c) Examination of preventive interventions for families with depression: Evidence of change. Development and Psychopathology. 9 (1), 109–130.
Beardslee, W. R., Wright, E., Rothberg, P. C., Salt, P. & Versage, E. (1996) Response of families to two preventive intervention strategies: Long-term differences in behavior and attitude change. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 35, 774–782.
Beardslee, W., Salt, P., Porterfield, K., Rothberg, P.C., Van de Velde, P., Swatling, S., Hoke, L., Moilanen, D. & Wheelock, I. (1993) Comparison of preventive interventions for families with a parental affective disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 32, 254–63.
Beardslee, W. R., Hoke, L., Wheelock, I., Rothberg, P. C., Van de Velde, P. & Swatling, S. (1992) Initial findings on preventive intervention for families with parental affective disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 149 (10), 1335.
Christiansen, H., Anding, J., Schrott, B. & Röhrle, B. (2015) Children of mentally ill parents: A pilot study of a group intervention program. Frontiers in Psychology. 6, 1494.
D’Angelo. E. J. Llerena-Quinn, R. Shapiro, R., Colon, F., Rodriguez, P., Gallagher, K. & Beardslee, W. R. (2009) Adaptation of the preventive intervention program for depression for use with predominantly low‐income Latino families. Family Process. 48 (2), 269–291.
Eklund, R., Alvariza, A., Kreicbergs, U., Jalmsell, L. & Lövgren, M. (2020) The Family Talk intervention for families when a parent is cared for in palliative care: Potential effects from minor children’s perspectives. BMC Palliative Care. 19, 1–10.
Furlong, M., Mulligan, C., McGarr, S., O’Connor, S. & McGilloway, S. (2021) A family-focused intervention for parental mental illness: A practitioner perspective. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12, 783161.
Giannakopoulos, G., Solantaus, T., Tzavara, C. & Kolaitis, G. (2021) Mental health promotion and prevention interventions in families with parental depression: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders. 278, 114–121.
Giannakopoulos, G., Tzavara, C. & Kolaitis, G. (2015) Preventing psychosocial problems and promoting health-related quality of life in children and adolescents struggling with parental depression. Open Journal of Depression. 4 (02), 24.
Mulligan, C., Furlong, M., McGarr, S., O’Connor, S. & McGilloway, S. (2021) The Family Talk Programme in Ireland: A qualitative analysis of the experiences of families with parental mental illness. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12.
Pihkala, H., Cederström, A. & Sandlund, M. (2010) Beardslee’s preventive family intervention for children of mentally ill parents: A Swedish national survey. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion. 12 (1), 29–38.
Podorefsky, D. L., McDonald-Dowdell, M. & Beardslee, W. R. (2001) Adaptation of preventive interventions for a low-income, culturally diverse community. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 40 (8), 879–886.
Solantaus, T., Toikka, S., Alasuutari, M., Beardslee, W. R. & Paavonen, E. J. (2009) Safety, feasibility and family experiences of preventive interventions for children and families with parental depression. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion. 11 (4), 15–24.
Solantaus, T. & Toikka, S. (2006) The effective family programme: Preventative services for the children of mentally ill parents in Finland. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion. 8 (3), 37–44.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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