ABFT is a treatment approach that meaningfully reduces suicidal thoughts and attempts. It is based on the belief that adolescent and young adult internalizing disorders (e.g., depression, suicide, trauma, anxiety) can be precipitated, exacerbated or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal relationships in families. It has also been used where family conflict is a contributor to the presenting problem. It is a trust-based, emotion-focused psychotherapy model that aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based parent–child relationship.
Treatment is characterized by five treatment tasks:
- Reframing the therapy to focus on interpersonal development
- Building alliance with the adolescent
- Building alliance with the parents
- Facilitating conversations to resolve attachment ruptures
- Promoting autonomy and competency in the adolescent
