Evaluation of family therapy.

Because children of mentally disordered parents have an increased risk of becoming subjects of mental disorder and psychological problems, adult psychiatry has increasingly paid attention to the patients' parental skills. This study includes 31 families with children younger than 18 years of age where the parents were admitted to family therapy in an open psychiatric ward. The average number of sessions was seven, and the diagnoses of severe stress and of adjustment disorder were the most common. The aim of the study was to measure changes in the family climate during the period of therapy. The instrument used was the Family Environment Scale (FES), a self-rating questionnaire that measures the parents' experience of family environment. The change of family environment is related to its influence on children's well-being and development. The study finds that family therapy has resulted in positive changes of the parents' experience of the family climate.