Family Psychiatry Toolkit

Welcome to the Family Psychiatry Toolkit! Members of the AACAP Family Committee have gathered resources to support your learning and practice as it relates to all aspects of family-based care in child & adolescent psychiatry. We are passionate about the value and joy of working with families. Please see the Schedule bar for upcoming meetings and committee happenings. Your feedback and ideas are always welcome at any time to clinical@aacap.org.

Family Committee

Since December 2021 our committee has organized an open work group to coordinate efforts to support adequate resources for training in family-based assessment and intervention in CAP training programs. Participants in the work group include members of the Family Committee as well as others with interest in this topic. This group initially developed a collection of resources on a google drive and has more recently organized materials for a clinician resource page on the website A future goal is to contribute to resources for families on the website. In addition the group has also explored challenges in the provision of training and has been an excellent place for people to share ideas and programs. A longer term goal is to support the development of curriculum recommendations to be submitted for endorsement by AADPRT. The current chair of this work group is Andrew Rosenfeld MD.

Family Committee Charge

Supportive families and kinship networks are the foundation for optimal child health and well-being.

1. Throughout all aspects of our charge the Family Committee will maintain an actively anti-racist stance and will respect the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
2. The Committee will identify and disseminate evidence-based and innovative family-based interventions in the treatment of children and adolescents and inform AACAP members.
3. The Committee will encourage the incorporation of robust family-based training in support of currently required residency competencies.
4. The Committee shall be a resource to the academy and its members to promote and ensure the active involvement of families in the care of their youth though formal and informal mentorship opportunities for medical students, residents and attending psychiatrists
5. The Committee will be an advocate for a family-systems perspective both within AACAP and at other professional organizations in the provision of behavioral healthcare including AACAP initiatives, clinical practice guidelines, policy statements, legislative action, and collaboration with other AACAP committees and professional organizations.
6. The Committee is responsible for developing and supporting programs at the annual meeting that will highlight parenting and family relationships.