Abstract
Disconnection and disengagement are frequent characteristics of interactions between parents and adolescents who present with substance use disorders. Excessive blame, defensiveness, and recrimination characterize day-to-day interactions within these families. Developmental psychopathology research reveals both short- and long-term effects of negative emotional patterns between parents and adolescents on the young person's development, as well as on the parents' functioning and their parenting practices in particular. Persistent expression and experience of negative emotions are also associated with poor treatment outcome, as they act as barriers to treatment engagement and change. This article demonstrates how research-based knowledge can guide therapeutic strategy and how emotions can be transformed in an empirically supported, family-based treatment: multidimensional family therapy. Transcripts with commentary from an adolescent, a parent, and from family therapy sessions illustrate emotion-related interactional transactions and interventions.
