Thriving as the Outcome

Ethnographic research with over 35 families led us to identify and define thriving as the primary outcome measure. Every family we met experienced chaos and stress, yet many families were still moving towards the lives they wanted.  In our words, they were thriving.  Thriving families tried new things, set goals for the future, brokered family members to opportunities outside the house, and gave and received positive feedback.  Check out the paper we wrote on our ethnographic research with families, “Going for the Good Life”

Behavioural Modelling as the Lever

When co-designing our solution with families they described learning by doing, yet we observed few opportunities for whole families to see and try new ways of doing family.  Family by Family brings whole families together to see and learn from each other.  Link ups serve as a vehicle for family led change: sharing families model thriving behaviours and connect seeking families to new community resource.

Implementing evidence-based practice

What works for families in Family by Family aligns with the literature on effective family interventions.  Effective family interventions emphasise family strengths, resilience and protective processes rather than deficits (Kumpfer and Alvarado 2003).  Evidence-based strategies for helping families overcome trauma include: planning and doing positive activities, building problem-solving skills, and develop supportive connections (Bromfield etal., 2010, p.19).  Family by Family puts these evidence-based strategies into practice.  We move beyond resilience and enable families to plan and take steps towards the future.

Complementing community development & professional services

Family by Family employes whole families rather than professionals as the delivery agent.  Sharing families are trained and supported to use their own stories, strategies and connections to help seeking families move towards their goals.  Family by Family occupies a new intervention space: one that blends the behaviour change focus of targeted services with the informality and universality of community development.