Emphasizing the Child's Ecology and Family

Reviews the book, Intervening in Children's Lives: An Ecological, Family-Centered Approach to Mental Health Care by Thomas J. Dishion and Elizabeth A. Stormshak (see record 2006-11734-000). Family-oriented legislation has reinforced three concomitants. First, regardless of context, interventions for children should involve families. Second, all education and mental health interventions should be planned and monitored, as reflected in individualized treatment plans for quality care within mental health services (Woody, 1991) and individualized education plans and family service programs for appropriate education within special education and other education-related services, which now require parental involvement (Jacob & Hartshorne, 2003). In other words, any professional intervention must establish that it is appropriate to and effective for the needs of the service user(s). Third, the aforementioned planned approaches need to be empirically based (Weisz, Jensen-Doss, & Hawley, 2006). The authors adopt the three aforementioned principles. Their fundamental premise is that children need planned interventions that rely on family involvement and have an empirical basis. The ecological approach advanced by Dishion and Stromshak, which they call EcoFIT, focuses on families, peer groups, communities, and schools. It has six unique features: It is empirically based, family centered, and assessment driven; social interactions and motivation to change are addressed; and interventions should be suitable for health maintenance. The discussion of each of the six features is predicated on extensive citations for behavioral science information, with the results being insightful descriptions. Throughout the material, there is consideration given to ethical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)