Helping high school teachers learn family therapy in China

Abstract

High school students’ mental health issues in China have been increasingly concerning for teachers and parents. To better help high school teachers respond to students’ psychological and behavioural needs, the second author, a psychologist, helped six teachers learn family therapy from October 2022 to June 2023 in China. This study used a qualitative approach to understand the learning outcomes of these high school teachers. The findings revealed the following themes: (1) learners began to recognise the importance of family therapy principles; (2) learners began to use family therapy concepts and methods to work with high school students and parents for problematic behaviours and (3) learners began to spread the ideas of family therapy. The results of this study offered preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of family therapy training among high school teachers/counsellors in China, which encouraged future related endeavours. Discussions and Limitations of this study are also provided.