Grant Award to Texas Tech University

Dr Carissa D’Aniello from Texas Tech University, and Dr Rachel Tambling and Dr Beth Russell from the University of Connecticut were awarded $5,000 to conduct a feasibility study of an adaptation of the empirically supported caregiver intervention, PRISM (Promoting Resilience in Self-Management).  The project is consistent with MRI’s mission, as it aims to improve mental health and caregiving burden outcome for the caregivers 

Caregiver-focused adjunctive supports are the fields’ best hope for countering the known burdens of providing systemic support to high-risk children. General systems theory indicates that change in one area of a system, SUD treatment, requires complementary changes in other areas of the system. Therefore, the caregivers must change in meaningful ways. The researchers assert that offering family support to better navigate the strains of facilitating young adults’ recovery will lead to longer lasting, more pervasive second order change than individual treatment alone. 

 Their innovative treatment strategy integrates systemic concepts in an evidence-based practice, an example of the versatility of systemic family therapy principles. They propose a systemic treatment of a presenting problem (substance use) that is traditionally conceptualized and treated as an individual issue. Their project will demonstrate that treating caregivers can lead to tangible and significant improvement in the substance using member of the family, which marks an innovation in the application of systemic theory.