Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is an evidence-based approach to family therapy developed in the USA. In 2007 the Archways Families First FFT service was established in Clondalkin, Dublin to provide a service for families of adolescents with behavioural problems at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Therapist training was provided by Professor Tom Sexton, an FFT expert from Indiana University, and Astrid van Dam an accredited FFT trainer.

Between 2010 and 2014, a research programme to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of FFT at Archways Families First was conducted by Professor Alan Carr, Dan Hartnett and Clare Graham from the School of Psychology University College Dublin, in collaboration with Professor Tom Sexton, at Indian University and the team of FFT therapists at Archways Families First. This FFT research programme involved a retrospective survey covering the period 2007-2011 and a prospective randomized controlled trial covering the period 2012-2014.