A multiple-case study of contextual supervised visitation: Therapeutic experiences of children, parents, and marriage and family therapy student interns

The purpose of this research was to gather data about the experience of individuals and families involved in a supervised visitation program, as well as to gather data from the perspective of marriage and family therapy (MFT) student interns serving as supervised visitation monitors. Participants of the study included families and student interns who were currently participating in the supervised visitation program at The Wellspring Counseling and Family Development Center.;The method of design for this research was multiple-case study. Multiple sources of information, such as interviews, documents, and observations, were collected and analyzed. The information received from participants contributes to the lack of existing literature in this area. The findings of this study inform the researcher about what therapeutic approaches were used for facilitating the relationships between separated families who were court ordered for supervised visitation.;The three major themes that emerged from the data collected were embedded within three particular contexts of the supervised visitation experience: historical context, therapeutic visitation context, and safety context. Several subthemes provided related concepts. Noncustodial parents felt as if their children were stolen from them, and they felt stuck in the court system as they tried to regain custody of their children. The MFT student interns built a therapeutic alliance with each family member before implementing techniques such as modeling, coaching, and redirecting. All participants indicated that safety of the children was primary at The Wellspring Supervised Visitation Program.;The researcher concluded from the findings that MFT student interns and participants of supervised visitation are able to identify characteristics of therapeutic visitation, and MFT student interns use various therapeutic approaches to aid in the reunification process. An outline for the foundation of a training manual has been included in the appendix of this document. The researcher is hoping that the results will assist in the creation of a manual for any agency from which supervised visitation monitors can be trained using systemic principles.