social learning theory with a goal of improving the parent-child bond. Bjorseth and Wichstrom (2016) found PCIT to be successful in reducing behavioral problems in very young children. Additionally, Lyon and Budd (2010) found PCIT to be effective with urban ethnic minority clients. The positive research outcomes from previous parent-child studies reinforced to researchers that attachment based therapies are the most effective for adoptive families (Allen et al., 2014). However, until the PCIT study conducted by Allen et al. (2014), there had been no evidence to support the assertion that attachment based therapies are the most effective approach for young children in adoptive families. In their study, Allen et al. (2014) noted that PCIT reduced both internalizing and externalizing concerns among school-aged participants. Notably, they also found PCIT was effective for the parents in reducing parenting stress and improving positive parenting skills. These results are significant and contribute to the research in treating adoptive families.
Filial Family Play Therapy
The goal of Filial Family Play Therapy (FFPT) is to train parents to conduct child-centered play sessions with their children (Carnes-Holt, 2012; Ryan & Madsen, 2007; Weir et al., 2013). Through this approach, parents learn to promote feelings of love and acceptance of the child in a safe, nondirective, and encouraging environment (Carnes-Holt, 2012;
… parents who participated
in CPRT reported statistically significant improvement in child behavior problems, parent-child relationship stress, and parental empathy, with large treatment effects on all measures.
Ryan & Madsen, 2007). Parents attend didactic lessons to learn how to conduct experiential play-based sessions with their child. In this model, expression of feelings by the child is encouraged and empathy by the parent is modeled. Filial therapy is built on the foundational principles of child-centered play therapy and was originally developed by Louise and Bernard Guerney (Guerney, 1964). Van Fleet (1992) applied filial therapy with adopted children in order to attend to the relational needs of adoptive children and their families. Ryan and Madsen (2007) conducted a case study analysis using FFPT with an adoptive family whose child had experienced pre-adoptive maltreatment to determine if FFPT had a lasting impact on the wellbeing of the child and the family system. A one-year follow-up confirmed that FFPT helped the family to increase parenting skills, increase positivity within the family dynamic, and strengthen the overall family relationship (Ryan & Madsen, 2007). Though the child’s anxiety symptoms did not completely dissipate, FFPT helped the parents develop skills to help with the child’s behaviors and symptoms (Ryan & Madsen, 2007). In a more recent study, Capps (2012) examined filial treatment with foster parents of adolescent age children. Capps found that the pre-treatment, adolescent participants believed that as a group, foster
children were disposable and worried they could be removed from their foster home at any time, indicating a low sense of attachment and trust in the stability of their placement. Post-filial intervention, the adolescents and their foster parents reported an increase in the attachment bond, an improved sense of stability in the foster placement, and an overall higher sense of connection. These outcomes are both positive and encouraging for parent-child attachment research.
Child-Parent Relationship Therapy Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), originally designed by Garry Landreth (2002), is a parent-therapy program with roots in Filial Therapy (Guerney, 1964). It utilizes constructs of client-centered theory originally developed by Carl Rogers (1951), and was adapted to use with children by Virginia Axline (1950). CPRT teaches play skills to parents in order to enable the child to express feelings he/she was previously unable to convey to his/her parents. The parents learn skills that encourage acceptance of their child’s perspective. In a didactic, support group, parents learn skills and receive feedback from other parents, as well as from the CPRT trained clinicians, about their progress in implementing the techniques (Landreth, 2002; Landreth & Bratton, 2006). CPRT, an evidenced based filial therapy model, has been shown to be effective with numerous populations. Subsequently, the National Registry for Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP, 2017), listed CPRT as “Effective for Family Cohesion, Effective for Disruptive Behaviors, and Promising for Internalizing Behaviors” with Effective being the highest Level and Promising being the next highest level. Carnes-Holt (2012) made the assertion that this treatment approach can be effective with adoptive family systems. Carnes-Holt (2012) contends the following:
Because attachment disruptions indicate the presence of a relationship-based problem, [Child-Parent Relationship Therapy] CPRT’s focus on the parent–child relationship makes it an appropriate therapeutic treatment modality for helping adoptive families respond to the challenge of establishing and maintaining a secure relationship. (p. 419)
In a pilot study conducted by Carnes-Holt and Bratton (2014), it was determined that CPRT was effective with a population of 61 adoptive families. Specifically, parents who participated in CPRT reported statistically significant improvement in child behavior problems, parent-child relationship stress, and parental empathy, with large treatment effects on all measures. Though this is the first study of its kind, the results are promising for those who wish to practice CPRT with adoptive families.
Theraplay® Theraplay®
, established in 1971 by Ann Jernberg and Phillis Booth, is a child and parent therapy aimed at enhancing attachment, parent confidence, a child’s trust in others, and playful engagement (Vaughan, McCollough, & Burnell, 2016). Baden et al. (2013) highlighted the use of Theraplay®
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www.a4pt.org
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