Integrating a Single Session Family Therapy Approach in Two Child and Youth Mental Health Services

The two authors work in two different and geographically separate Australian Child and Youth Mental Health Services – one in metropolitan Melbourne (the Alfred CYMHS team), the other in Hobart, Tasmania (known as the CAMHS South Team). The Alfred team has been providing a single-session approach to family work for 10 years, whereas the Hobart team began inviting all new client families to engage in a single session in 2015. Both groups incorporate elements of training into their single sessions, particularly for new staff and for medical staff on rotation through different service. Both groups also use a similar process for preparing for, conducting, and following up single sessions. This chapter provides a summary of the collective experience of these two services, in terms of (1) the impetus for using a single session approach, (2) outcomes, and (3) collected reflections and learnings.