| Course | PAC 330 Substance Abuse |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Family treatment paper |
| Length | About 1,103 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 330 Module 8
"He Won't Come": Engaging a Resistant Teenager Through His Family With Evidence-Based Family Treatment
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 330: Substance Abuse
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
"He Won't Come": Engaging a Resistant Teenager Through His Family With Evidence-Based Family Treatment
Daniel's mother, Rosa Martínez, called Prairie Hope Recovery, the composite Omaha program used in these papers, on a Tuesday afternoon. Her son, sixteen, smokes cannabis every day, drinks with friends on weekends and was suspended last month for coming to school high. She had tried to get him to see a counselor, but he laughed. "He won't come," she said. "Can you still help us?" Daniel's father, Javier, works two jobs and believes Daniel will grow out of it as he did. Daniel's grandmother lives with the family and is the person Daniel listens to most. This paper plans how to engage and treat the family. The Martínez family is a teaching composite, and the clinic is invented; the family therapy research is real.
Evidence for Family Therapy
Stanton and Shadish (1997) conducted a meta-analysis of controlled studies comparing family and couples therapy with other treatments for drug abuse in adolescents and adults. Family and couples therapy produced better drug use outcomes than individual counseling, peer group therapy and family psychoeducation. Family therapy also had an effect on retention: it kept more people in treatment than the comparison conditions. The authors noted that because family therapy retained more users, including those likely to do poorly, comparisons that looked only at people who completed treatment probably underestimated its advantage. They concluded that family therapy should be a treatment of choice for drug abuse.
Engaging Families From the First Call
Szapocznik et al. (1988) addressed the problem Rosa described: adolescents who refuse treatment. They developed strategic structural systems engagement, in which therapists treat the resistance to coming as a symptom of family patterns and begin working with those patterns from the first telephone call. If a mother says her son will not come, the therapist does not wait; the therapist works with the mother on how to bring him, joins with family members who hold influence and addresses whatever pattern is keeping the family from attending. In a trial with Hispanic families of adolescents with drug use and behavior problems, families randomly assigned to this engagement approach were far more likely to come to an intake and to complete treatment than families receiving standard engagement.
Current Family Therapies
Rowe (2012) reviewed research on family therapy for drug abuse published between 2003 and 2010. Family-based treatments for adolescents had the strongest evidence. Several models, including multidimensional family therapy, brief strategic family therapy, functional family therapy and multisystemic therapy, had been tested in controlled trials with positive results for substance use and related problems. Rowe noted that these approaches share features: they bring the teenager and the parents into the work as a unit, they address family interactions that maintain the problem and they often work with schools and other systems. For adults, behavioral couples therapy had the strongest evidence.
The Martínez Family's Patterns
During the first call, the counselor learned that Rosa sets all the rules and Daniel ignores them, that Javier is rarely home and disagrees with Rosa about how serious the problem is and that Daniel's grandmother is the one adult whose disapproval he feels. These patterns, a mother alone in setting limits, parents divided and an influential grandmother on the sidelines, suggest both why Daniel refuses and how to engage him.
| Engagement step | Family pattern it addresses | What the counselor does |
|---|---|---|
| First call with Rosa | Mother alone with the problem | Joins with her, validates her effort, plans together how to invite Daniel |
| Call to Javier | Parents divided on seriousness | Asks his view, finds shared concern about the suspension and Daniel's future |
| Inviting the grandmother | Influential elder on the sidelines | Asks Rosa whether the grandmother would come and speak to Daniel |
| Framing the invitation | Daniel's refusal to be treated as the problem | Invites the family to talk about stress at home, not Daniel's drug use |
| Scheduling | Javier's two jobs | Offers Sunday afternoon at the family's home or the program |
Culture and Family
The family's Mexican heritage shapes how engagement should proceed, though families vary and the counselor will ask rather than assume. Spanish is the grandmother's first language, so a Spanish-speaking counselor or interpreter will be available. Respect for elders gives the grandmother a natural role. Javier's view that Daniel will grow out of it reflects his own experience, and the counselor will acknowledge it while sharing information about the risks of daily cannabis use for adolescents. The family's strong connections are a resource.
The Treatment Plan
Following Szapocznik's engagement approach, the counselor will work with Rosa and Javier to invite Daniel to a family meeting framed around family stress, with his grandmother present. Once the family attends, treatment will follow brief strategic family therapy, an approach developed with Hispanic families, over about twelve to sixteen sessions. Sessions will aim to strengthen the parents' ability to set limits together, reduce conflict between Rosa and Daniel and build positive time between Daniel and his father. Individual sessions with Daniel, with clear confidentiality limits, will address his own goals, such as returning to school sports. The counselor will coordinate with his school. Engagement, attendance, Daniel's use and family conflict will be measured at intake, midpoint and end.
Why Family Rather Than Individual Treatment
An individual approach might seem simpler: wait until Daniel agrees to come and then see him alone. The evidence argues against waiting. Daniel's use is maintained partly by family patterns, a mother setting limits alone, parents who disagree and little time with his father, and individual treatment would leave those patterns untouched. Stanton and Shadish's finding that family therapy keeps more people in treatment is especially relevant for an adolescent who has already refused. And the family is suffering now: Rosa is exhausted, and the conflict at home affects Daniel's younger sister. Family treatment helps the family even before Daniel changes.
If Daniel Still Refuses
If Daniel does not come after the first invitations, the counselor will continue to meet with the parents and grandmother, working on how they respond to his use and how they invite him, since family sessions without the adolescent can still change patterns at home and often lead to the adolescent joining later.
Conclusion
Rosa's call, "He won't come," is where family treatment begins. Stanton and Shadish show that family therapy outperforms other approaches and keeps more people in treatment, Szapocznik and colleagues show that engagement can start with whoever calls and Rowe shows strong evidence for family-based treatment of adolescents. By working with the Martínez family's patterns and strengths, including Daniel's grandmother, the program can bring the family, and eventually Daniel, into care.
References
Rowe, C. L. (2012). Family therapy for drug abuse: Review and updates 2003-2010. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(1), 59-81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00280.x
Stanton, M. D., & Shadish, W. R. (1997). Outcome, attrition, and family-couples treatment for drug abuse: A meta-analysis and review of the controlled, comparative studies. Psychological Bulletin, 122(2), 170-191. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.122.2.170
Szapocznik, J., Perez-Vidal, A., Brickman, A. L., Foote, F. H., Santisteban, D., Hervis, O., & Kurtines, W. M. (1988). Engaging adolescent drug abusers and their families in treatment: A strategic structural systems approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 552-557. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.56.4.552
Reading the PAC 330 Module 8 assignment instructions
The closing module of PAC 330 covers family treatment, and assignments typically ask you to apply family therapy evidence to a family, often including the problem of engaging a member who refuses help. Your Aspen course's Module 8 prompt governs; Daniel and his family are invented. Present outcome evidence for family therapy, including effects on dropout. Describe a specific engagement method with its evidence. Summarize current family therapy approaches. Identify family patterns relevant to the problem. Plan engagement and treatment steps concretely, attend to culture and note which families each study enrolled, citing all of them in APA 7. Plan what you will do if the adolescent still refuses after the first invitations. Name the family's strengths alongside its patterns.
Inside the PAC 330 Module 8 example
Daniel's mother says he laughs when she mentions counseling; his father works two jobs and believes Daniel will grow out of it. Stanton and Shadish's Psychological Bulletin meta-analysis shows family therapy's advantage and its lower dropout. In Szapocznik and colleagues' engagement trial, far more families came in when therapists worked on the family's patterns from the first phone call. Rowe's Journal of Marital and Family Therapy review summarizes newer adolescent family therapies. A five-row table pairs engagement steps with family patterns, from the first call to Sunday scheduling. The plan uses brief strategic family therapy, scheduled around the father's jobs, with Spanish available and Daniel's grandmother included.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 330 Module 8 rubric
Family treatment papers earn credit for accurate outcome evidence, a concrete engagement method and attention to family patterns and culture. This example reports Stanton and Shadish's finding on dropout, which is central for a resistant teen. Szapocznik and colleagues' engagement trial is described with what therapists actually did, starting with the mother's call. Rowe's review places the plan in current evidence. The table connects each engagement step to a family pattern, such as the father's absence and the mother's role as the only one setting limits. Culture is addressed specifically, through language, extended family and the meaning of respect, without stereotyping. The plan continues with the parents if Daniel does not come at first.
PAC 330 Module 8 help: mistakes that cost marks
Family papers often assume the adolescent will attend, when engagement is the first problem. Plan engagement explicitly, beginning with whoever calls. Report outcome evidence accurately, including effects on dropout. Describe specific approaches rather than family therapy in general. Identify family patterns, such as alliances and who sets limits, that maintain the problem. Address culture specifically, including language, extended family and values, while recognizing variation within any group. Schedule around families' real constraints. Include both parents where possible. Measure engagement and outcomes, and plan for the possibility that the teen will not come at first. Use the family's own words for the problem.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 330 Module 8 questions, answered
What does PAC 330 Module 8 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 330 ends with family treatment methods, so applying family therapy evidence to a family, often including engaging a reluctant member, is typical. Read your Module 8 prompt.
Is family therapy effective for drug abuse?
Stanton and Shadish found family and couples therapy more effective than individual counseling, peer groups and family psychoeducation, with lower dropout.
How can a resistant teenager be engaged in treatment?
Szapocznik and colleagues found that working with family patterns from the first call, through strategic structural systems engagement, brought most families into treatment.
Where can I find a free PAC 330 Module 8 sample paper?
Here, free of charge: engaging a resistant teen through his family with evidence-based family treatment, with an engagement table and a plan.
Which family therapies have the best evidence for adolescents?
Rowe's review found strong support for several, including multidimensional family therapy, brief strategic family therapy, functional family therapy and multisystemic therapy.