In this article, the authors evaluate family-based counseling interventions from the perspective of the Principles of Empirically Supported Interventions (PESI). At the broadest level of evidence, both the qualitative and meta-analytic reviews provide substantial support for the general efficacy of family-based interventions. At more specific levels of evidence, family-based intervention programs that target at-risk adolescents demonstrate clinical success with a variety of clients and problems, in many locales, when delivered by a range of interventionists. Finally, the authors provide some thoughts on the current state of family-based intervention research and the value of the PESI criteria for identifying and developing effective treatments, as well as guiding future family-based research.
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