PROGRAMMED DISTANCE WRITING: A SUPPLEMENT TO TRADITIONAL FAMILY THERAPY.

Therapists today are challenged with families who present complex, multiple, and multisystemic problems in treatment settings wherein therapy is increasingly limited in duration and frequency. Managed care usually sets restrictions on the length of therapy, focusing on time- and cost-effectiveness, while calling for efficient, high-quality treatment. Programmed Distance Writing (PDW) can be an answer to this challenge by encouraging families to be actively involved in the change process through structured homework assignments. PDW workbooks designed specifically for families include the Negativity Workbook, the Sibling Rivalry Workbook, and the Lying Workbook, are described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]