Facilitating Emotion Focused Skills Training for parents online (EFST-O): Insights about self-disclosure, group dynamics and culture

Abstract

The Emotion Focused Skills Training (EFST) is a program for parents who want to promote the mental health of their children, and their own. EFST builds primarily on the experiential learning principles of humanistic therapies, such as emotion-focused therapy. There is a raising interest on the potentials of implementing this program in Norway and other European countries, yet there are few qualitative studies addressing the learning experiences that parents have when enrolling the program, or the possibilities and challenges of implementing EFST in different mental health services, and with families with diverse cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the cross sectorial experiences of adapting and piloting the EFST program to an online and culturally inclusive format (EFST-O). EFST-O consisted of four live sessions in Zoom and EFST video lectures as complementary material. We ensured user involvement with expat and Norwegian families, and diverse public mental health organizations. Participants filled out qualitative questionnaires after the sessions (n=13; n=15; n=11; n=18). Participants (n=9) and collaboration partners from different mental health services (n=6) provided written feedback on the video lectures. We used reflexive thematic analysis and contrasted the data with the fieldnotes of the principal investigator, and anonymous feedback from two psychotherapists who observed the program. Participants described increased awareness and knowledge about emotions and relationships, appreciated the pedagogical tools, and the expertise of the facilitators. They also wished for more interaction with other peers and expressed a need to learn more about parenting and receive additional support. Most participants found the program helpful and inclusive. For some families, culture and couple relationships could have been more emphasized. Perceptions about peer self-disclosure and therapists’ self-disclosure affect group dynamics online and/or onsite, and this is further discussed addressing implications for practice.