A Parent’s Handbook of Filial Therapy, 3rd ed.

Title: A Parent's Handbook of Filial Therapy: Building Strong Families with Play, 3rd ed.

Author: Risë VanFleet, Ph.D., RPT-S

Illustration: Stuart Adelman

Photographs: Risë VanFleet, Ph.D., RPT-S

Publication Date: 2022

Publisher: Play Therapy Press, Boiling Springs, PA

51 pages

ISBN 10: 1-930557-17-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-930557-17-8

Updated and expanded, the third edition of A Parent's Handbook of Filial Therapy is intended for child and family therapists to use with parents who are involved in Filial Therapy (parent-child play therapy). In Filial Therapy, the therapist trains and supervises parents as they conduct special play sessions with their own children in order to resolve a wide range of adjustment and mental health difficulties. Filial Therapy is a time-limited intervention with long-term benefits: over 55 years of research and clinical practice have consistently shown it to be effective in facilitating both child and parent change. This practical handbook is designed to help parents understand the process and answer many of the questions that arise. Included are an overview of the therapy process as well as information for parents at various phases of the therapy. The manual is written simply and clearly, and provides a convenient reference for both parent and therapist.

The third edition of this popular manual features all the information practitioners and parents have found valuable in the first two editions as well as improved descriptions of the skills used in filial play sessions, an enhanced section on understanding play themes, parent self-report forms, and an expanded section of special topics including information on child trauma, aggressive play, divorce, behavior problems, identity and self-acceptance through Filial Therapy, attachment issues, and parents' own reactions to the play sessions. This valuable manual supports and reinforces the therapeutic practice of Filial Therapy for clinician and parent alike.