Advancing Medical Family Therapy Through Research: A Consideration of Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs

To survive in today's healthcare climate, stakeholders across all mental health disciplines must work to produce empirical evidence that earns their fields' regard by educators, providers, and policy makers. As the field of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) answers this call, it will be important for researchers to clearly define, characterize, and assess MedFT practice across clinical, operational, and financial arenas of care. In this account, we propose a common lexicon from which to do this, highlighting the following core tenets of MedFT: systems theory, biopsychosocial-spiritual sensitivity in practice, agency, communion, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the three-world model of healthcare. We conclude by offering concrete ways to advance the MedFT research agenda using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches.