Therapeutic crisis intervention for families: an investigation of caregiver perceptions and experiences

The Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Families (TCI-F) program aims to equip caregivers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to deal with crisis situations involving their children. Despite the program's global dissemination, its influence on predictors of intervention uptake and caregiver experience is not understood. We therefore sought to investigate the changes in determinants of implementation behaviour from pre- to post-TCI-F. These include knowledge, confidence, and intention to implement new strategies, beliefs about consequences that implementation would be beneficial, beliefs that change was part of one's social role, and a sense of having sufficient resources and support. In addition, we sought to understand the experiences of program participation. Caregivers who participated in TCI-F were invited to complete questionnaires about determinants of implementation behaviour before and after the program. They were also invited to complete a questionnaire about their experiences attending TCI-F. One hundred fifty-five participants completed questionnaires. Significant improvements were found in all determinants of implementation behaviour. Caregivers reported improved knowledge about program strategies, a belief that this was part of their role, confidence and capability in managing crises, beliefs that implementation will be beneficial, intentions to implement learned strategies, and a sense of being provided with sufficient resources and support. Additionally, participants reported high levels of satisfaction, hope for the future, improved coping, and overall well-being following the program. Qualitative responses supported these findings and revealed that many participants expressed a wish that the program was available sooner and that additional maintenance support was available. Findings support the use of TCI-F and indicate that this is a promising intervention for caregivers who are struggling to cope with the crisis behaviours of their children. As this is the first published empirical investigation of TCI-F, avenues for further research are identified.