Giving children a voice: children's positioning in family therapy

Abstract

Studies of users' views of family therapy have rarely explored the means by which children construct their experiences. Family interviews after a first session of therapy included thirteen children aged 8 to 15 years. An analysis of the transcripts demonstrated that, like adults, children draw on forms of explanation generated by acknowledged experts. They used discourses of counselling, therapy, consumerism and education to construct and assess their experiences. The ages of the children affected the construction and evaluation of therapy and the positions taken up in relation to adults. Older children demonstrated more independence from parents. Like adults, the children adopted a variety of stakes, their sophistication increasing with age, suggesting a developmental path towards full membership of adult discursive communities. Recognition that children are active in construing therapy should enhance therapists' insights and facilitate positive therapeutic relationships.

‘We're here to get you sorted’: parental perceptions of the purpose, progression and outcomes of family therapy

“…The findings of this article potentially contribute to the growing empirical evidence base for the way therapy occurs in actual practice. Research has shown that children and families are active in the construction of therapy within powerful discourses and that they take up a particular interplay of these discourses (Moore and Seu, ). This article has explored the discursive practices of parents in progressing through therapy.…”

“…In family therapy there is a greater complexity in treatment due to the multiple members and different trajectories of the therapeutic alliance (Escudero et al ., ). Children take up various positions in family therapy and the relative power of adults can be met with compliance or resistance (Moore and Seu, ). Here, the adults in the interaction may actively pursue a therapeutic agenda to seek and identify familial problems and create solutions, whereas children may not understand this or may not engage in this agenda (Hutchby and O'Reilly, ).…”

Can I Tell Just by Myself? Discussing a Parental Mental Disorder With a Child in a Research Interview

“…In their study, Moore and Seu (2011) argue that in family therapy the voice and position of young children seems to be much more closely bound to the dynamics of the interview than is the case with adults. In her interview, Tanja seemed to be able to voice herself both as an ordinary young person and as a child living in a challenging and vulnerable family context.…”

Giving Voice to Children: Considerations on Qualitative Interviews in Pediatrics

“…Essa estratégia também facilita a interação entre o pesquisador e a criança. 10 Recursos como o uso de desenho, brinquedo terapêutico dramático, fantoche, fotografia e dinâmicas de criatividade e sensibilidade, associados ou não à entrevista, podem agir como facilitadores da coleta de dados, direta ou indiretamente, ampliando a interação com as crianças e permitindo mais expressão de seus sentimentos, facilitando a comunicação e a interação entre participante e entrevistador, bem como para aumentar a confiança e a motivação dos participantes. 11,12 O desenho é uma das estratégias mais utilizadas, e isso se deve ao fato de que todas as crianças desenham o que sabem (sua "ideia" do objeto) e não o que veem; e têm o hábito de desenhar o que é importante para elas e o que elas se lembram, por exemplo, figuras que representam pessoas, animais, casas forma a protegê-las e garantir a manutenção de sua autonomia, bem como respeitar os demais princípios da bioética, a saber: a justiça, beneficência e não maleficência.…”