M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / In families, almost no interaction is simply the result of group processes. Even when the process of interaction seems to take on a life of its own, it is the product of personalities, persons conscious of the possibilities of interactions. A perusal of the current literature reveals a move toward the reintroduction of the individual and his/her possibilities into the system. The insistence of a focus on family dynamics, while providing a sharpened awareness of relationships and interactive patterns, resulted in selective absorption and the tendency to ignore individual family matters. In this thesis it is suggested that there is a need for the reintroduction of the individual into family therapy practice. This approach is based on the discovery in a number of therapies, that different individual family members were reacting differently to the same intervention. A detailed case example is presented to illustrate this approach. The study questions the need for all family members to be present" in each therapy session. Furthermore, the study describes concurrent individual therapy processes with individual members of the family and the resulting systemic changes that were observed. Family therapy has demonstrated that it is important to consider relational as well as individual realities in evaluating health and dysfunction. Implications for therapy and treatment anslnq from this study include the need for a broader view which takes into account the realities of all members of the problem determined system. In conclusion, the author warns against the dangers of focusing on any single viewpoint. A lack of respect for the realities of all members of the professional family system, and adherence to a single perspective may in fact perpetuate the trauma and contribute to the distress of the family.

Utilizing a collective case study design, I examined and described the filial therapy (FT) process and adaptations discovered to be necessary and unnecessary in working with families who have a child with a life-threatening illness in the hospital setting. Data from a total of 7 parents was utilized, including those who terminated early, in order to gain a greater understanding of adapting FT for families who have a child with a life-threatening illness and their participation patterns. The parents attended 10 one- to two-hour FT sessions. The data was analyzed to examine for themes, patterns and relationships intrinsically with each case participant, as well as across cases. Analysis indicated that parents with a child with a life-threatening illness had great difficulty committing to attend FT; and a high rate of attrition occurred for those who did commit. A theme regarding flexibility was found to be of eminent importance in a variety of manifestations including therapeutic methods, session format, location and time of sessions, and intense vs traditional FT. Therapeutic adaptations in flexibility found to be important including openness to cathartic and personal parenting sessions, tolerance of forgetfulness, and lowering typical therapeutic concerns of dependency in the relationship. An inability for parents in this situation to benefit from intense FT methods was also noted. Changes noted in the child of focus included increased confidence, increased cooperation in the medical setting, increased communication with the parent and with medical staff regarding medical issues, and increased communication with the parent regarding personal feelings and issues. Changes noted in the parents included increased confidence in parenting skills, increased awareness of the child's perceptions of the environment, increased tolerance in allowing the child to struggle in and out of the medical setting, with both emotional and physical pain in order to gain coping skills, increased ability to allow the child to empower self, and increased abilities in limit setting.

This randomized controlled study is a preliminary investigation on the effects of Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) with 61 adoptive parents. The participants in this study identified themselves as the following: 54 European American, 3 Black American, 3 Hispanic/Latino, and 1 individual who chose not to indicate ethnicity. The study included 23 couples and 15 individual mothers. The CPRT is a structured, time limited approach that trains caregivers to be an active participant as a therapeutic change agent in their child's life. Results from a two (group) by two (measures) split plot ANOVA indicated that adoptive parents who participated in 10 weeks of CPRT reported statistically significant decreases in child behavior problems and parent child-relationship stress. Statistically significant increases in parent empathy were also reported by raters blinded to the study. CPRT demonstrated a medium to large treatment effect on reducing children's behavior problems and parent-child relationship stress. In addition, CPRT demonstrated a large treatment effect on increasing parental empathy. The results of the study provide preliminary support for CPRT as a responsive intervention for adoptive parents and their children.

No description available.

The developmental impact of the family system on a child varies according to the functional status of the family. Harter, Pamela, and Neimeyer (1988) found that sexually abused children reported perceptions of significantly less cohesion and adaptability than nonabused children within their families of origin.

Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is an empirically supported and developmentally appropriate counseling intervention for young children. Despite the clinical effectiveness of CCPT with children, no known study has been conducted in which parents were surveyed or interviewed regarding the services they have received as a part of their children’s participation in CCPT. Therefore, this study was designed to gain a better understanding of parents’ reported needs and expectations in CCPT. This study utilized Q-methodology in which participants completed a Q-sort by actively sorting 40 items on a continuum of least important to most important. Items included services and processes regarded by CCPT scholars and child therapy practitioners as being important to working with parents. Data was collected from 19 parents of children receiving CCPT services in a community-based counseling clinic. Participants included 16 females and 3 males; 15 Caucasian and 4 Hispanic; and 14 biological parents, 2 adoptive parents, and 3 other biological caregivers. Data was analyzed using centroid factor analysis, and results revealed a one factor solution representing 18 of the 19 participants. Eighteen parents reported similar beliefs regarding the processes they consider most and least important to their experience in working with child-centered play therapists. In general, parents’ beliefs aligned with CCPT philosophy, particularly in regards to respecting children’s natural pace of development and healing. Furthermore, parents shared preferences for play therapists who demonstrate expert knowledge and training and who understand the individual needs of their children. Discussion includes implications for the practice of CCPT and training of future play therapists, limitations of the study, and implications for future research.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an intensive version of the Landreth (2002) 10-week filial therapy model as a method of intervention for children of Israeli parents living in Israel. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of intensive filial therapy training in (a) reducing internalizing behavior problems of Israeli children; (b) reducing externalizing behavior problems of Israeli children; and (c) reducing overall behavior problems of Israeli children. A second purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of intensive filial therapy training with Israeli parents in increasing the parents' (a) empathic responsiveness with their children; (b) communication of acceptance to their children; (c) allowance of self-direction by their children; (d) involvement in their children's play activities; (e) feelings of efficacy as parents; and (f) reduction of parental stress. The experimental group consisted of fourteen Israeli children who their parents received nine intensive Filial Therapy training sessions within a five week period and had seven parent-child play sessions. The non-treatment comparison group consisted of thirteen Israeli children whose parents received no treatment. Parents in the study completed the Hebrew version of the Child Behavior Checklist, the Parenting Stress Index, and conducted pre-test and post-test play sessions for the Measurement of Empathy in Adult-Child Interaction. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance revealed the children in the experimental group significantly reduced external behavior problems. The results also revealed the parents in the experimental group significantly reduced parental stress and significantly increased communication of empathy to their children.

This study examined how current family counseling/therapy programs train students to work with families with young children and made recommendations for training in this area based on recommendations of child and family therapy experts and the research and clinical literature. These recommendations explored what knowledge and skills all students should acquire versus students who want to specialize with this population. Changes to accreditation standards were also proposed as well as a description of resources to support changes in program curricula. Current training was measured by examining curricula from master's level marriage and family counseling/therapy programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and master's level social work programs with a family-related concentration accredited by the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation (CSWE), the accreditation standards from these three organizations, course syllabi from the COAMFTE and CACREP programs, and surveys of COAMFTE and CACREP program directors (60% response rate). Recommendations for training were obtained through a qualitative analysis of quotations from the literature concerning training and through interviews of child and family therapy experts (65% response rate). The results revealed the number of courses recommended by the literature and experts was much greater than the number of child-related courses per program and a great variety of textbooks were used. Accreditation standards also required little child-related course material. The on-campus clinics had low percentages of child-related facilities but high percentages of child-related resources. The results also showed the experts recommended much greater percentages of experiential activities than were required by the programs. Finally, a much larger percentage of experts than program directors agreed that accreditation standards should be changed to include more child-related courses.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of Filial Therapy as a method of intervention with families with chronically ill children. Filial Therapy is an intervention that focuses on strengthening and enhancing the parent-child relationship. Parents are trained to become the agents of change for their children's behaviors by utilizing basic child-centered play therapy skills in weekly play sessions. The purpose of this study was to a) determine the effectiveness in decreasing parental stress, b) determine the effectiveness in increasing parental acceptance, and c) determine the effectiveness in decreasing problematic behaviors in the chronically ill child as assessed by their parents.

This investigation was concerned with determining the effectiveness of filial therapy as a method of intervention for families of children with pervasive developmental disorders.