Marriage Model: The Partnership Model

The partnership model
The partnership model is an approach to service delivery in which the establishment of positive clinician-family relationships and providing opportunity for family participation is considered key to successful intervention (Watts Pappas, Mcleod, & McAllister, 2009). In the past, traditional models have viewed the clinician as the expert, and the client as a passive recipient of a service (Watts Pappas et al., 2009). In such models parents are provided minimal roles in the intervention and decision-making process (Crais, Roy, & Free, 2006; Hanna, & Rodger, 2002). In contrast the partnership approach encapsulates the entire family unit as the client and offers the opportunity to expand the role of the family throughout the intervention process (Watts Pappas et al., 2009).

This model places particular emphasis on the development of a partnership between the clinician and parent (Bruder, 2000). It is considered important to establish this relationship early and continue to build upon it throughout the intervention process (Hanna & Rodger, 2002). Such relationships...