What is Theraplay?
Theraplay is a type of parent-child psychotherapy that is proactive, intensive and relationship focused. It's modeled on the natural patterns of healthy parent-child interaction that lead to secure attachment and mental health, and helps foster parents and children create a better, less problematic relationship.
Recommend For:
Getting started:
Goals:
Theraplay is a type of parent-child psychotherapy that is proactive, intensive and relationship focused. It's modeled on the natural patterns of healthy parent-child interaction that lead to secure attachment and mental health, and helps foster parents and children create a better, less problematic relationship.
Recommend For:
- Parents and Children/adolescents in foster care whose case is moving towards reunification.
- Children/adolescents in foster care with an attachment disorder diagnosis, controlling or defiant behaviors
- Safe to do with children and their foster parents or with a child and therapist only.
- Parents and Children/adolescents in pre-adoptive or adoptive homes.
- Sibling groups as sibling family therapy
Getting started:
- Provide team meeting with Theraplay therapist to discuss case history, goals, parent’s history, progress and individual treatment goals and child’s history, progress and individual treatment goals.
- Bonding assessment for treatment planning.
- Feedback session with parents.
- First couple of sessions is therapist and child only while parent observes.
Goals:
- Create a more secure relationship by changing the inner working model of parent and child interactions through more positive experiences.
- Help parents understand and respond to their child’s signals and underlying needs.
- Help them understand and come to terms with those aspects of their own experiences and attitudes that might get in the way of their being able to change old patterns and respond to their child’s needs.
- Teach a child what a secure attachment is and feels like even if they will not be with a caretaker long term; it is better to do with a foster parent even if the goal is ultimately reunification.
- Theraplay dimensions communicate to the child:
- Someone bigger and wiser than you is looking out for you, you can relax. - Structure
- You are not alone and I like being with you. - Engagement
- You are worthy of good care. - Nurture
- Wow, look what you can do! - Challenge
