Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), Falls Church, includes an ongoing project to assist the United States Air Force (USAF) Family Advocacy Program in developing and executing quality research studies which examine a variety of family violence issues within a contemporary military context. The studies suggest methods that commanders may use to effectively reduce dysfunctional family behavior within military communities. Secondary projects included within this effort are the Youth Collaboration Project, a prototype effort that melded United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Extension resources with those of Air Force family service providers at nine USAF bases, the Risk Assessment Tool Project, aimed at developing a new tool for assessing the likelihood of family violence recurring within military families, and the Gender Symmetry Research Project in which a qualitative pilot study was conducted to provide information about the relationship dynamics of couples in which both partners are violent.

MFT recently completed a three-year project, the Healthy Parenting Initiative, funded by the Department of Defense and awarded through the USDA. Under the leadership of MFT, the University of Missouri developed a "toolbox" of resources that military families and family service providers can use to deal with stressors associated with a military life style, such as frequent deployments, intermittent single parenting, and separation from extended family support networks. Concurrently, Auburn University developed a series of tools for enhancing communication between military parents and their teenagers. And Cornell University developed research-based modules that link improved family fitness and military readiness. These resources were distributed to military bases and command structures at the start of the second Gulf War in early 2003. With this information, commanders are able to more effectively allocate their finite resources in ways that offer the biggest payback in terms of unit readiness.

Among other notable MFT research projects is one funded by the National Institute of Mental Healthy (NIMH), which helped develop a standardized, systemic couples treatment model for male perpetrators of spouse abuse whose relationships remain intact after occurrences of mild to moderate violence.

For more information visit:

http://www.nvc.vt.edu/mft/home2.html

Contact Information

Marriage and Family Therapy
Virginia Tech
Northern Virginia Center
National Capital Region
7054 Haycock Road, Suite
Falls Church, VA 22043-2311
Phone:  (703) 538-8460
Fax:  (703) 538-8465

Contact email: nvgcmft@vt.edu