Family Medicine & Medical Science Research
Open Access

Abstract

The Gothenburg Model of Family Work in Psychiatry: A Brief Introduction to Methodology and Theory

Scharin M

In this paper a model of family work, developed in the western parts of Gothenburg’s psychiatry, is described. The structure of the model, examples of patient cases and inclusion criteria are included. The model was developed during twenty years of clinical practice. The utility has been proven in practice for a wide variety of serious psychiatric conditions. The model is highly structured and therefore easily explained and transferred to others. The possibility to be able to offer family treatment adds to the work satisfaction by helping to moderate the conditions for team members who work with patients with highly complex and serious symptoms, and by offering the practitioner a strong alternative to the individualized approach to treatment of hardest and most worrying cases.

The prediction of the efficacy of the model is that it is to be shown equal or superior to other treatment interventions in psychiatry.