The Family Stories Study
Continuing the family therapy journey beyond the therapy room.
The Family Stories Study follows family members who have completed their family therapy journey at Bouverie. Families who take part will have the opportunity to share their experience of change in their family up to two years after they have finished coming to Bouverie for support.
As a practice-research centre of the School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, we invite all families who come to the Bouviere Centre to join our practice-research community. We aim to learn from adults, parents, and children about their needs and what’s most helpful for families during challenging times. The insights gained from our research ensure that families benefit the most from our service.
What we aim to learn
The overarching project aims are to understand:
- The diversity of families: Who comes to Bouviere?
- What problems and challenges do families face and need support with?
- What are the outcomes for families who engage in family therapy with Bouverie?
How can families get involved?
After family members finish family therapy, we will talk to each family member in an interview session.
What information will families share?
During the interview, we will ask questions about:
- their reflections and perspectives before. during, and after family therapy
- their experiences of coming to Bouverie
- what it’s like for all family members to come to therapy together?,
- their experience of change in the family over time
Meet the project team
Principal Investigator – Professor Jennifer McIntosh
Chief Investigator and Family Therapy Research Coordinator – Dr Zoe Cloud
Co-investigators: Associate Professor Sandra Kuntsche; Dr Anna Booth;
Ellen Welsh and An Vuong
Student Investigator: Naomi Rottem
The Project Team are all associated with La Trobe University
Who funds this project?
This integrated research is conducted within the Bouverie Centre’s ongoing funded service agreement with the Department of Families Fairness and Health (DFFH).
FAQs
1. Who can participate in The Family Stories Study?
We invite everyone who comes to Bouverie for therapy to join our research to help us better understand families, their experience of therapy, and how best to support families.
2. Does my family have to participate in The Family Stories Study?
No, being part of this study is voluntary.
3. What information will you use in your research?
The data we collect is:
- Your personal experience of family therapy.
- Your opinion about what was helpful or unhelpful about therapy.
- Your reflections about any changes in your family since coming to therapy
4. Will my family be able to be identified in the research?
No. We look at patterns across all families. We do not look at separate information from individual families. We remove all personal details from your information (names, addresses etc.) and group it with information from other families who have also come to Bouverie. That means we will only store and publish your information in ways that will not reveal who you are.
5. More information
For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/BC-FAMSTORIES24
Alternatively, please feel free to contact Dr Zoe Cloud:
Email: z.guest@latrobe.edu.au
Contact number: +61 3 8481 4800
Ethics approval number: HEC21277