Filial Therapy: Shifting the Balance

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe author presents an argument for the inclusion of filial therapy as an empirically researched treatment in child mental health services. Filial therapy is a hybrid form of child-centred or non-directive play therapy that actively involves parents in the delivery of their child's therapy. Developed in the 1960s by Bernard and Louise Guerney, Pennsylvania State University, USA, filial therapy can be understood as a relationship-enhancing therapy that provides a bridge between family therapy and play therapy. The author argues the case for filial therapy to be more widely adopted in the UK on two counts. First, as an integrated therapy filial therapy avoids the traditional 'either/or' treatment options of play and family therapy, allowing the intrapsychic or intrapersonal issues of the child to be addressed directly within the family system. Second, being taught child-centred play therapy skills to use with their children empowers parents and creates a shift away from the usual perception of the therapist being seen as the 'expert' or the one who can best help the child in question. K E Y W O R D S filial therapy, integrated therapeutic intervention, intrapsychic, non-directive play therapy, systemic family therapyU P O N R E C E I P T O F a referral for a child experiencing emotional or behavioural problems the assessing clinician is at once faced with a standard task: to identify which kind of therapeutic intervention is most likely to bring about the desired change in the child and/or their family. For some clinicians their first choice would be a systemic option, i.e. that of family therapy or perhaps a parenting programme, for others, individual

Insecure Parental Attachment and Permissiveness

“…Insecurely attached adolescents and emerging adults, particularly those who are avoidantly attached with a history of prior victimization, may be more at risk for experiences of unwanted sex, as they may have difficulties creating healthy relationships due to their parental attachment style. If an adolescent is the identified patient in family counseling, particularly in situations in which it is clear that there is not a secure bond between parent(s) and child, the therapist can tailor treatment to address attachment insecurity via filial therapy, theraplay, emotionally focused family therapy, or other preferred modality (Hutton, 2004; Myrick, Green, & Crenshaw, 2014). Promoting a secure attachment bond between parents and adolescents can influence adolescents’ self-esteem, ability to be assertive about needs and wants in intimate relationships, and capacity to create trusting social support systems, all of which can serve to decrease sexually risky behaviors and prevent experiences of sexual coercion (Kirby, 2007; Wilkinson, Holahan, & Drane-Edmundson, 2002).…”

A Filial Therapy Model Through a Family Therapy Lens

“…Family therapy and play therapy share a problem in common, and where one is strong in terms of involving certain members of the family the other is weak. This had led several authors to propose that filial therapy, with its direct involvement of caregivers and children in treatment, is a solution that family therapists and play therapists can have in common in order to impact the family system (Gil, 1994; Guerney & Guerney, 1987; Hutton, 2004; Johnson, 1995; Johnson, Bruhn, Winek, Krepps, & Wiley, 1999; Kellam, 2001). Filial therapy, first introduced by Bernard Guerney (1964), is an approach in which parents of young children are trained to be “therapeutic agents” through learning how to apply basic child-centered play therapy skills in conducting play sessions with their children (p. 304).…”

“…Despite filial therapy being an outgrowth of child-centered play therapy (Axline, 1947; Landreth, 2002) and person-centered theory, proponents have provided theoretical arguments that explain how filial therapy satisfies the unique dimensions of both play therapy and family therapy (Hutton, 2004; Johnson, 1995; Johnson et al, 1999; Kellam, 2001). For instance, Johnson et al (1999) provided six different arguments for filial therapy that coincide with traditional family therapy principles:1) Filial therapy requires family involvement; 2) Filial therapy takes the focus off the child as the IP [identified patient]; 3) Filial therapy often leads to the parents’ seeing their role in the problem; 4) Filial therapy enhances parental leadership, strengthening the generational boundary between parents and children; 5) Filial therapy increases differentiated relating and reduces polarizations between parents and children; 6) Filial therapy highlights unhelpful systemic sequences.…”

Using Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) with our First Nations people.

“…Stover and Guerney (1967) also noted that using parents as change agents or helpers could reduce guilt, shame, and helplessness they might feel when dependent on a professional to help their child. Current FT practice harnesses parental agency by accentuating capabilities and minimizing deficiencies (Ginsberg, 1976; Guerney, 2000; Hutton, 2004).…”