Community-Based Family Interventions
Our lab develops mental health support that works with the family system as a whole, strengthening caregiving relationships, communication, and problem solving rather than treating one member at a time. Programs are delivered in the places families already spend their time, including homes, congregations, schools, and community groups, so that taking part does not depend on reaching a clinic. Programs are developed together with communities, delivered by lay providers and peers, and evaluated in trials in Kenya, the United States, Thailand, Liberia, and Vietnam.
Current
Tuko Pamoja
Kenya
A two-tiered family intervention combining group-based prevention delivered in community settings with in-home family therapy, both delivered by lay providers.
Coping Together
United States
Tuko Pamoja adapted for families in the United States, with Caminando Juntos, the Spanish-language version developed for Latine immigrant families.
Family Well-Being and Adolescent Mental Health
Vietnam
An entertainment education intervention using narrative film to strengthen communication between adolescents and the adults who care for them, developed together with young people.
Parenting on the Border
Thailand–Myanmar border
A tiered model of parenting support for migrant and displaced families, combining a narrative film shown across whole communities with group sessions for caregivers experiencing high distress.
LEADAffiliated
Kenya
An intervention for fathers at risk for depression and drinking at harmful levels, developed during doctoral training in this lab and now led independently.
Past
Happy Families
Thailand–Myanmar border
A family skills intervention for Burmese migrant and displaced families in Thailand, evaluated with the International Rescue Committee.
Parents Make the Difference
Liberia
A ten-session group parenting program for caregivers of young children, tested in rural post-conflict communities and in urban Monrovia.
Family Togetherness Scale Development
Kenya
A measure of family functioning developed and validated with Kenyan families, available in Kiswahili and English with locally validated cut-off scores.