| Over the last decade, family courts have seen an increase in the number of parent-child contact problems and allegations of alienation. Children resisting or refusing contact with a parent post-separation pose considerable challenges to the mental health professionals tasked to work with them.;Reintegration therapy (RT) has recently evolved to help ameliorate parent-child contact issues and alienation. However, little is known about what consensus exists on RT, or how it is defined and delivered by mental health practitioners. Limited evidence exists on treatment models, or evaluations of RT, and no standards or practice guidelines are available for the treatment of parent-child contact issues.;The purpose of this study was to: 1) Explore how RT is defined and practiced among experienced mental health professionals in Canada and the United States; 2) identify underlying theory informing practitioners' understanding of the issues and on clinical practice in RT; and 3) use findings for practice recommendations to advance knowledge for clinical practice with this population. To this end a hermeneutic, phenomenological design was chosen to elicit thick descriptions for a phenomenological analysis and theme development. A purposive sample of fourteen (14) practitioners was obtained. Initial analysis revealed substantial variance among practitioners' training, underlying theoretical frameworks, clinical approaches and service delivery models utilized.;Three distinct themes/subthemes emerged from in-depth analyses representing a measure of consensus among respondents. First, RT is generally viewed as a therapeutic process to help improve family relationships as a whole. Second, participants identified frequently used assessment criteria necessary for determining suitability for RT. Finally, agreement on overall treatment goals for families participating in RT was identified. These study findings illustrate the need for more and better-developed training in RT, integrated theory development, and the creation of best practice guidelines based on scientific and rigorous evaluation preferably using a longitudinal approach. |
