ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses an overview of several areas of special treatment consideration when working with families, such as cultural considerations, premature treatment termination, and working collaboratively with multiple agencies. Working with traumatized families is a multifaceted process requiring therapists to have an understanding of trauma, attachment, and the nuances of each family system, as well as the communities and organizations in which they interact. Therapists working with challenging families within a multisystemic and multicultural framework must remain focused on the importance of improving attachment security within the family and advocate for the implementation of a trauma and attachment lens by the various agency systems involved with the family. The author discusses the challenges of helping families with generational trauma, attachment, and/or addiction problems who tend to have an increased risk of maladaptive psychological functioning within family relationships since these families are at risk for premature termination from treatment. This chapter addresses the need for therapists to help parents identify and access residential treatment services to help their children resolve the impact of trauma when outpatient treatment does not provide the necessary structure for healthy changes.
