Innovation: Behavioral Health Skills Training for Families of Space Travelers

Abstract

With the evolution of space travel to more frequently include civilian space travelers, there is an emerging need for behavioral health skills training for longer missions. There may be utility in using the analog of military deployments. One such model is Families OverComing Under Stress (FOCUS), a family-centered evidence-based resilience training program that has been implemented at military installations for the last fifteen years. FOCUS is designed to enhance family cohesion and strengthen parent–child, marital, and co-parenting relationships and improve emotion regulation, communication, problem-solving, and goal-setting skills across the family. Research results reveal that both parents and children from military families participating in FOCUS demonstrate significant improvement in emotional and behavioral adjustment, reducing their risk of developing anxiety, depression, or other behavioral disturbances by half. It has also demonstrated efficacy in the tele-delivery model, allowing for implementation for families who are separated due to trainings and missions.