Filial Therapy
Learn the skills to work with your own child in Play Therapy under the guidance of the Play Therapist and increase the outcomes of play therapy for the whole family!
What is Filial Therapy?
Filial Therapy was developed by Bernard and Louise Guerney in the 1960's to support parents and other carers to work therapeutically with the children in their care (VanFleet, 2012). It follows the same principles as Humanistic Play Therapy in that is is both child-centred and non-directive but held within the child-parent relationships rather than the child-therapist relationship. As the therapy is held within an established safe relationship, the outcomes for children are likely to occur more quickly (Shaeffer, 2011) and can have strong benefits for the entire family such as:
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Improved child-parent relationships
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Improved communication skills
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Increased flexibility within the family and
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Increased ability to have fun together.
(VanFleet, 2014)
Who does Filial Therapy Benefit?
Play therapy is beneficial to any child who is facing challenges in their lives – behaviourally, emotionally, socially, academically or developmentally as well as those who have experienced trauma or those with a disability (Schaefer, 2011).
Filial therapy is beneficial for any family who is keen to support their child and to build their child-parent relationship. It can also be tailored to other adults working closely with children such as social workers, foster carers and teachers (Cochran, Cochran, & Nordling, 2010) .
Filial Therapy can work very effectively in an online platform so is a great option for families needing support for their child/children who live in more rural or remote communities. Contact Us for more information about this option.
How does Filial Therapy Work?
In Filial Therapy, sessions are held mostly between the adults with the therapist teaching the 4 key skills of therapy:
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Structuring
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Empathic Listening
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Imaginative Play
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Limit Setting
The parents are then supported to practice these skills with their children in short, supervised play sessions. When the family feels confident they are then supported to continue this work at home under the ongoing guidance of the therapist.
The sequence for Filial Therapy runs as follows:
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Discussion Phase - The parents and therapist meet to discuss the families needs and their challenges, outline the process of Filial Therapy and for the therapist to gain insight into the family's history (approx. 1hr)
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Assessment - The therapist will set up an activity for the whole family to gain a picture of family dynamics and what play currently looks like for the family. This is used to help guide the rest of the program (approx. 1hr)
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Demonstration - The parents are invited to watch the therapist in action during a humanistic play session with each of the children and discuss what has been observed (approx. 1hr)
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Training - The 4 key skills of Filial Therapy are taught to the parents and practiced with the therapist (approx. 3 hrs)
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Practice - The children are invited back for small one-on-one play sessions with the parents to practice their skills with the therapist on hand to observe, support and give feedback (approx. 4hrs)
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Generalisation, Final Assessment and Discharge Planning - The parents and therapist meet again to review what has been learnt and to discuss how families can incorporate the skills in the home. Assessment tasks from the beginning of therapy are revisited to discover change.
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Ongoing support - Families can now practice these skills at home while being able to check back in with the therapist over time when support may be needed.
(VanFleet, 2012)
References
Cochran, N. H., Cochran, J. L., & Nordling, W. J. (2010). Child-centered play therapy: a practical guide to developing therapeutic relationships with children. Hobokken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Schaefer, C. E. (2011). Foundations of Play Therapy. Hobokken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
VanFleet, R. (2012). A Parent’s Handbook of Filial Therapy. Building Strong Families with Play (2nd ed.). Boiling Springs: Play Therapy Press.
VanFleet, R. (2014). Filial Therapy. Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships Through Play. Sarasota FL: Professional Resource Press.