Brief Strategic Family Therapy and the Management of Adolescent Indian Parasuicide Patients in the General Hospital Setting

This article describes a model for brief strategic family intervention for use with adolescent parasuicides in a general hospital setting. A rationale and structured therapeutic procedure for intervention are provided. The intervention uses a systemic, time and cost-effective approach which attempts to use the crisis to facilitate resolution of a developmental impasse within the family as a whole. The approach incorporates elements of crisis intervention theory and strategic family therapy. While no formal outcome study was conducted, a three-year follow- up period suggested a zero parasuicide readmission rate for cases receiving family intervention.