Keeping an Open Mind About Parent Involvement RAKIMA PARSON, MS, LPC-S, RPT-S
As play therapists, working with children of divorce can sometimes make it necessary to keep legal counsel on speed dial to ensure that we are both serving clients effectively and avoiding liability. It is of the utmost importance to review court orders and agreements and engage in legal and ethical consultations to ensure an understanding of who has parental responsibility to
consent to psychological services. If only one person must consent then the other parent does not have to be involved.
A best practice is to have at least one parent or caregiver involved in the years, there have been shifts that require counselors to be creative about how they involve that parent or caregiver. In our modern times, we are seeing a shift in who is actually involved in children's services
One parent not being involved in the services is not synonymous with excluding a parent. There are several reasons one of the parents may not be involved in the treatment or may have a negative impact on the therapeutic process, including work schedule, living in another city or parent. Including a non-primary parent in the play therapy process may even create anxiety for the child if there is tension between the adults,
COUNTER POINT
Even when parents are married, it is common for one parent to carry referred to as the "default parent." In the case of a divorce, there may be a document that designates the default parent.
Further, there are often cultural barriers that may prevent the language barriers, or even a belief that non-traditional methods of intense desire for a therapist to only provide services if both parents are involved, and it is not legally or ethically required, biases must be further explored. Therapists are shaped by their experiences and beliefs. However, our professional code of ethics calls for us to have cultural humility and avoid imposing our own values on parent involvement through consultation and training.
Legislative policies to increase access to care have gained some traction and we must ensure that our practice policies are not unintentionally creating additional barriers to help-seeking. Therapists who have strict rules that both parents must be involved, even if not legally required, may prevent particular populations of children from receiving necessary services. In a perfect world both parents would be healthily involved, but statistics indicate an increase in high- being bound to rigid approaches to the therapeutic experience in our modern society could negatively impact child clients.
resistance very appealing. But if play therapists avoid acknowledging the elephant in the room we only serve to collude with a potentially abusive parent. An independent determination regarding whether we should or should not involve both parents in play therapy is crucial.
The middle ground, in the absence of safety issues, is to remain open to the possibility of involving both parents. It is important for the play therapist to take an intentional lead in protecting both the therapeutic relationship with the child client, as well as the therapist’s ability to be a strong advocate for that client. In divorcing families it is imperative that the play therapist continually work to remain neutral in respect to the child’s parents in order to protect both the therapeutic alliance with the client as well as the therapist’s role as an advocate.
When both parents are involved in the play therapy process, the child is reassured that having a relationship with both parents is acceptable. If the play therapist resists the involvement of the uninvolved parent they may be simply enabling the involved parent’s exclusion of a loving parent from the child’s life. Additionally, excluding one parent may inadvertently send the child the message that the uninvolved parent is a topic to be avoided, and that play therapy is not a place for the client to process uncomfortable situations.
Play therapists who involve an otherwise uninvolved parent may be able to model for the child and the involved parent how to manage when determined to be appropriate, will lead to more effective therapy and a healthier client.
www.a4pt.org | December 2022 | PLAYTHERAPY | 21
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