This article describes how clinicians are working on establishing structures that will enable research on and producing evidence for narrative family therapy with families struggling with psychiatric illnesses. The aim is to suggest ways for clinicians working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to implement collaborative therapies in a psychiatric setting that favors evidence-based practices. Pragmatism and the narrative theory of multistoried practices offer the means to both speak and theorize about such dilemmas and suggest practices that enable clinicians to grapple with these challenges. We hope that this article will be part of the growing inspiration for others to practice "narrative psychiatry. "

Background: Little research has been undertaken on children and adolescents with psychiatric co-morbidity and this group is seldom subject to evidence-based treatment. Equally, there has been little research on creating an evidence base for Narrative Therapy, which means that narrative family therapy (NFT) is seldom available to children and adolescents with a psychiatric disorder. Objective: A single group clinical design was used to examine the efficacy of NFT for children and adolescents with different diagnoses. Method: Families receiving NFT from the Family Therapy Team (FTT) at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) of the Capital Region of Denmark filled out psychometric measurements before and after treatment. Patients evaluated the burden of symptoms using Beck's Youth Inventory (BYI), and parents evaluated their personal agency in relationship to their child's psychiatric disorder using Parent Activation Measurement (PAM). Results: We analyzed data from 48 patients and found a significant increase in median BYI measures of Self-Concept (40.5 to 46.0, p = 0.002) with an effect size of 0.60, decreases in BYI Depression Index (58.0 to 54.0, p = 0.030) with an effect size of-0.41, decreases in BYI Disruptive Behaviour Index (48.0 to 43.0, p = 0.030) with an effect size of-0.38, and a significant increase in PAM from 56.4 to 68.5, p = 0.001 with an effect size of 0.61. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that NFT has a direct positive effect on patients' own evaluation of the burden of symptoms, and parents' perceived personal agency regarding their child's distress.

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