Youth worldwide are using cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine, resulting in many health and social problems. FFT is a short-term, manual-based, behaviourally-
oriented family therapy program for treating young people and their families. This new Campbell study evaluates the current evidence on the effects of FFT on drug abuse reduction for young people in treatment for non-opioid drug use, finding it to be inconclusive.
The review includes two studies comparing FFT to other treatments. The therapy appears to be effective in the short term, with reduced drug use at a 4-month follow up. But there was no significant reduction in youths’ drug use at a 7-month follow up. The authors conclude that there is a need for more research to see what works as treatment of young drug users.