The Family Therapist Behavior Scale (FTBS): Development and Evaluation of a Coding System

Abstract

This study evaluated the validity and reliability of a new coding system--The Family Therapist Behavior Scale (FTBS)--that was designed to identify and study clinically relevant verbal behaviors of short-term, problem-oriented family therapists. Validity was assessed by testing the scale's ability to discriminate significant, predicted differences between the in-therapy behaviors of eight beginning family therapists conducting observed interviews and eight advanced family therapists conducting supervisory interviews. All of the sessions, which were initial interviews, were videotaped. Two coders rated three five-minute samples from each of the 16 tapes with the FTBS. The validity results supported over 50 per cent of the 16 research hypotheses. The reliability analysis, based on the actual study data, indicated that the interrater reliability of the 19 category FTBS differed from chance at less than the .001 level of significance. The implications of these findings are examined and future research directions are identified.

The Empirical Evaluation of Family Therapy Training

“…Shapiro and Budman (43) found that premature termination and complaints by patients were consistently related to lack of therapist activity in family therapy. Using a precursor of the FTCS, Pinsof (36) found that advanced family therapists were significantly more active than beginners during initial interviews. By increasing their activity level, trainees in the current study acquired a behavioral characteristic that has been shown to relate to experience/expertise, continuation in treatment, and positive patient feelings about treatment.…”

“…Having a larger behavioral repertoire, therapists can be more versatile, handle a broader variety of clinical situations, and modify their therapeutic approach if particular interventions are not effective. Pinsof (36) found increased intervention range to be associated with greater experience/ expertise.…”

Anatomy of an initial interview: The importance of joining and structuring skills

“…TICS was built upon the work of previous researchers (Allred & Kersey, 1977;de Shazer et al, 1985;Ericson & Rogers, 1973;Lichtenberg & Barke, 1981;Mark, 1971;Piercy et al, 1983;Pinsof, 1979Pinsof, , 1981Sluzki & Beavin, 1977). TICS, though using fewer categories, approaches the complexity of Pinsof's (1980) FTCS because it codes in thought units, records who spoke to whom, and the contextual nature of the spoken message is analyzed through the use of conditional probabilities.…”

Outcome Research on Family Therapy Training: A Substantive and Methodological Review2

“…The Family Therapist Behavior Scale (FTBS). The FTBS is a coding system designed to specify clinically relevant verbal behaviors of family therapists practicing from the short-term, problem-oriented McMaster Model of Family Functioning (Pinsof, 1979). It consists of 19 mutually exclusive code categories and is exhaustive-i.e., it is designed to code every therapist statement into a meaningful (rather than an "other") category.…”