Common Factors Come Alive: Practical Strategies for Implementing Common Factors in MFT Training

Marriage and Family Therapy Students’ Experience with Common Factors Training

“…Participants described common factors as enhancing their confidence, supporting MFT models, leading them to attune to client factors, and enhancing their thinking about therapeutic change. The results provide empirical support to the conceptual arguments for integrating common factors into curriculum of MFT training programs (D'Aniello & Perkins, ; Fife et al., ; Karam, Blow et al., ; Karam, Antle, et al ).…”

“…The findings support the work of other common factors researchers, including Duncan () who argued, “The alliance engages the person in purposeful work and is the fuel of all change,” (p. 229; see also Frank & Frank, ; Wampold & Imel, ) In the end, therapy is a human relational endeavor, not an impersonal application of techniques to fix a broken machine, and the alliance is at the heart of effective therapy. D'Aniello and Perkins (), Karam et al. (), and Fife et al.…”

“…Recently, scholars have begun making the case for including common factors in MFT training and have offered suggestions as to what should be taught (D'Aniello & Perkins, ; Karam, Blow et al., ; Karam, Antle, et al, ). This study provides the first empirical investigation of students’ experience learning about common factors.…”

“…Given the empirical support for the important role that common factors play in therapeutic change and clinical outcomes, there has been increased discussion about the importance of including common factors in MFT training (D'Aniello & Perkins, ; D'Aniello & Fife, ; Fife et al., ; Karam, Blow, Sprenkle, & Davis, ). Although research has shown no significant difference in efficacy between therapy models (Lambert & Ogles, ; Smith & Glass, ; Shadish & Baldwin, ; Shadish, Ragsdale, Glaser & Montgomery, ; Wampold, ), MFT training programs continue to emphasize model‐specific training (Blow & Sprenkle, ; Karam, Blow et al., ; Karam, Antle, Stanley, & Rhoades, ; Weeks & Fife, ).…”

“…Rather, faculty can integrate common factors into existing courses, given that they cut across models and align well with the core competencies outlined by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) (D'Aniello & Fife, 2017;Nelson et al, 2007). Educators can draw upon a number of books and articles to facilitate learning about common factors (e.g., D'Aniello & Perkins, 2016;Duncan, 2014;Duncan et al, 2010;Fife et al, 2014;Karam, Blow et al, 2015;Karam, Antle et al, 2015;Stanley, & Rhoades, 2015;Sprenkle et al, 2009;Sprenkle & Blow, 2004a, 2004bWampold & Imel, 2015). These resources are particularly useful for students in clinical training because they discuss a moderate position on common factors, which maintains that common factors work through models, rather than replacing them.…”