What is the Teaching Family Model
The Teaching Family Model is an organized, fully integrated approach to providing humane, effective individualized treatment and services to individuals, families and children. Through research and scrutinized clinical practice, an integrated set of procedures emerged that has been developed and advanced resulting in a Model of treatment that is cost efficient, replicable, highly effective and cost efficient.
The Model is a philosophy of care and treatment that prioritizes therapeutic relationships and Practitioners as the primary conduit of effective treatment. Family-style relationships are seen as essential to healthy development of social and interpersonal skills. Weaving advanced cognitive behavioral techniques, motivation systems and person-centered interventions into daily life moments between consumers and highly skilled Practitioners results in an unparalleled therapeutic environment.
The Teaching-Family Model (TFM) is defined by standards of service and standards of ethical conduct which form the foundation of Model fidelity. The Teaching-Family Association (TFA) develops and oversees the implementation of these standards in all certified Model agencies through an annual review process. Standards reflect essential elements of the Model as they apply to integrated service delivery systems.
The Model’s Critical Service Delivery Systems
The Model is founded on five systemic components which, when effectively integrated, collaborate to create a structured organization poised to be responsive to internal and external feedback in continuous quality improvement. Those five systems are:
- Staff Selection & Training
- Competency-Based Management
- Quality Assurance
- Facilitative Administration
- Systems Integration
Elements of the Teaching-Family Model
Teaching Systems: Teaching Family Programs emphasize a strengths based approach to the supportive teaching of functional skills and behaviors.
Self-Determination: Emphasizes individual ownership and choice of goals and services provided; attained by equipping individuals to make rational choices and accept responsibility for the outcome of those choices. Problem solving skills and appropriate expression of emotions are keystones of this element.
Client Advocacy: Working in partnership with individuals; actively promoting and protecting individual rights while empowering persons served to self-advocate utilizing all social, legal and cultural resources and systems available.
Relationships: The development of therapeutic partnerships with persons served based on mutual trust and respect which facilitates the provision of high quality, individualized services.
Family-Sensitive Approach: Teaching-Family Programs recognize the importance of family to the client. They encourage and support contact delivering services in a family-aware context.
Diversity: Cultural and ethnic competence in the delivery of services to the individual and / or family.
Professionalism: Teaching-Family Associatoin and affiliated agencies promote the professional development of Practitioners through training, consultation, and evaluation leading to certification.