Filial Therapy supports parents (or carers and other key adults) in learning to play with their child or children in a child-centred way at home using basic play therapy techniques. Filial Therapy strengthens family relationships, builds self-esteem and confidence for everyone and helps prevent future challenges.
Filial Therapy is founded on the belief that parents are the experts on their children and that they can become the main agents of change for their children by learning the techniques of structuring, empathic listening, child-centred imaginary play and limit setting.
Filial Therapy aims to create a safe place for parents and children to play together, strengthen their relationship, help the children feel more accepted, and support them in expressing their feelings safely and appropriately without feeling pressured or judged. The therapist supports and coaches parents towards playing therapeutically with each child at home for around 30 minutes a week. Filial Therapy works best for children aged 3-14 but can be adapted to meet the needs of all children and teens.
The format would be similar to the plan below for a family with one or two children. It would be slightly different for families with more children or who are co-parenting. Each family needs a different level of support, so we would agree on a personal plan in the first session.
Session 1 - intake - adult/s
Session 2 - family play observation - adult/s and child/ren
Session 3 - play demo with therapist and kid/s - adult/s and child/ren
Session 4 - skills intro for parents and practice - adult/s
Session 5 - mock play session - adult/s
Session 6 - mock play session - adult/s
Sessions 7-11 - supervised play sessions at the Studio - adult/s and child/ren
Session 12 - planning for home play sessions - adult/s
Session 13 - discussion and feedback on home play - adult/s
Session 14-17 - discussion and feedback and skill generalisation - adult/s
Session 18-20 - phased out discharge sessions, so here we might meet fortnightly or monthly as we decide.
Ongoing support is available for three months after our last session. If needed, you can book a short Zoom or telephone call, which will be discussed in our last session.
Further paid-for ad hoc parent support sessions can be booked at any time.
For further information and costs, please see the download available here or contact Elaine.
