Effectiveness of Cognitive–Behavioral Family Therapy: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Cognitive–behavioral family therapy (CBFT) is used for a wide range of psychological and physical problems in integration with different treatment protocols. Effectiveness of CBFT research studies on the control group are limited in literature, even though this treatment is used frequently. Although various studies highlighted the effectiveness of CBFT, no systematic reviews were conducted. The study aims to review randomized controlled trials on CBFT. The study used keywords to identify 402 related articles in commonly used psychology databases (ULAKBİM, American Psychological Association, Psychology Database, Web of Science, Medline, and Scopus). The PRISMA diagram was used for analysis. Studies assessed with control groups were included without a historical limitation. The articles were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Fourteen articles were evaluated in terms of sample characteristics, content, application methods, characteristics of control and comparison groups, assessment tools, and findings. The results indicated that CBFT is especially more effective than individual CBT, psychoeducation or waitlist for various issues, such as anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, pediatric bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, anorexia nervosa and chronic physical problems. The study inferred that CBFT can be used to improve mutual interaction between mental or physical problems with family. In other words, CBFT can be used to improve the effect of disorders experienced by one member on the family and the effect of the family on the disorders. In this manner, the risk of relapse can be reduced in the treatment of certain disorders. Therefore, the study suggests that CBFT should be used increasingly and that this field warrants further research.