Grandparent-headed families: new therapeutic challenges.

In today's complex society where dissolution of the nuclear family has become commonplace, grandparents are playing an increasingly significant role in the nurturing of their young grandchildren. The authors studied twelve randomly selected grandparent-headed families from the case files of a suburban child guidance clinic. Comparisons were made among the cases in terms of a number of factors, most significantly, elements of treatment including therapeutic issues, modalities and outcomes. The authors stress a multi-modal and intergenerational approach to the treatment of these families.