Posted 05.07.2024

Give it a go: Reflection on BFT training | Radha Yagnik

If there is one thing I would suggest it is, give it a go.

The course was easy to follow with ample opportunities to practice what we had been taught. As an Assistant Psychologist in the Meriden team, I trained in 2023 and it was so lovely to see my colleagues as trainers. I was pleased to see how friendly they were, open to questions and embraced the learning journey of each attendee. Mistakes were warmly welcomed and kindly corrected. It was definitely a warm learning environment!

I was excited to be trained in a therapy modality that has helped so many families understand mental health and be equipped with the skills needed to communicate, even during the hardest of times.

Family work is so important, especially when working in mental health. Literature shows that stress within the family home and system increases likelihood of relapse, hospitalisation and symptom deterioration and equally, a family system that feels supported predict better clinical outcomes for the individual experiencing mental health difficulties. BFT is unique in the sense it provides an opportunity for family members to learn about the individual’s experience as they make sense of it, what is useful and not useful to their recovery and also provides an opportunity to relearn communication and problem-solving skills for when situations occur that seem difficult to handle. 

Signing up for the course, I envisioned it to be heavy on theory. A part of me was excited to learn yet worried about not being able to fully pick up on it. After attending the first day of the course, I quickly realised and appreciated the practical nature of it. There was an emphasis on reflection and roleplay which suited my learning needs more than just learning theory. For me it was really important to make theory practice links and to see how the theory translates in real-life practice.

We each took turns in our groups to be a BFT clinician and different family members every BFT day of the course. I found the opportunity to be a BFT clinician at least once per training day was really helpful in mastering the core set elements of BFT (e.g., eliciting a rationale from the family as to why this part of the work is important) that are present in assessments and the various components of BFT (e.g., making a positive request, expressing difficult feelings, etc).

Following from the training, I also found the elements of BFT were helpful in different modalities of clinical work. Eliciting a rationale from families was helpful in engaging families and also ensuring that the space is as collaborative as possible. Setting individual and family goals within the first engagement session is helpful to practice self-care with families, especially if there is a caring role within that family system.  Supervision has also been an asset to consolidating my learning. Whilst I unfortunately haven’t been able to practice BFT with a set family yet, I have been able to use supervision to think about different scenarios using BFT principles. Thinking using the principles of BFT under supervision from a specialist BFT clinician has made me increase in both my confidence and competence for when I do have a family to work with. Give it a go!