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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on July 19, 2006
British Journal of Social Work 2008 38(1):21-38; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl064
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

‘Everyone Started Shouting’: Making Connections between the Process of Family Group Conferences and Family Therapy Practice

Sally Holland and Mark Rivett

Sally Holland is Senior Lecturer and Director of the MA in Social Work in Cardiff School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. She has previously worked as a social worker in the statutory and voluntary sectors.

Mark Rivett is Senior Lecturer and programme Director of family therapy training in the School for Policy Studies, Bristol University. He is also a Principal Family Therapist in the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. Previously he was the Children’s Services Manager in the Domestic Violence Prevention Service Cardiff, NSPCC.

Correspondence to Dr Sally Holland, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WT, UK. E-mail: HollandS1{at}cf.ac.uk


  Abstract

This article presents findings from a qualitative study of family group conferences (FGCs) in Wales, UK. The study examined the process of seventeen FGCs involving twenty-five young people, using semi-structured interviews, analysis of documents and collection of data on welfare outcomes. Young people were re-interviewed after six months. The article focuses on the data concerning reported communications between family members during the family meetings. These data are discussed in relation to similarities and differences between FGCs and family therapy sessions. The authors conclude that each method of intervention presents potential lessons and challenges to the other. FGC co-ordinators might wish to reflect on how to manage and prepare family members for the potential for expressions of emotion and disclosures of confidential information that might arise in a family meeting. Family therapy has a long history of successfully working with such processes. Additionally, family therapists may wish to reflect on the successful management of intra-familiar conflict and disclosure by many families acting without a therapist or other professional present in a FGC.

Keywords: family group conferences, family therapy


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