The Solihull Approach is a model of working with families that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK. It was developed for use by those professionals in the National Health Service who are in first contact with families, such as health visitors, school nurses and Sure Start Units, but Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are using it as well. It focuses on the relationships in the family, using concepts from three different disciplines; reciprocity from child development research, containment from psychoanalytic theory and behaviour management from learning theory. The aim is to empower the family so that they are able to resolve the particular situation whilst also building resilience for the future, partly through improving their relationship. This model seems to resonate with developments across the world, where the demands of working quickly with families require us to integrate different theoretical frameworks.

Four preliminary research projects have already been carried out and funding is currently being sought for a multi-centre group design with a large number of subjects. The first research project showed that training in the Solihull Approach did change the practice of professionals, as well as increasing their confidence and job satisfaction. The second and third study looked at effectiveness and found that using the Solihull Approach decreased symptomatology, decreased parental anxiety about the symptom and decreased parent's general anxiety. The fourth study carried out an in-depth interview with four practitioners to elucidate their experience of using this model. A fifth study will be carried out shortly examining parents' experience of the model.

A comprehensive accredited open learning resource pack has been developed for those who work with children under the age of five years, together with another open learning resource pack for families with children upto the age of eighteen years. The demand for training has led to the publication of a training manual that covers the initial two-day training.