BJSW Advance Access originally published online on October 18, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2007 37(4):643-657; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch331
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Filial Therapy: Helping Children and New Carers to Form Secure Attachment Relationships
Virginia Ryan, PhD, C Psychol, MBAPT is a Child Psychologist and qualified Play Therapist and Supervisor. Her clinical practice concentrates on play therapy for children referred by local authorities in the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas, including court assessments. She is the director of the University of York’s Social Policy and Social Work Department’s MA/Diploma programme in non-directive play therapy, which leads to a professional qualification in play therapy and the Advanced Award in Social Work (AASW).
Correspondence to Dr Virginia Ryan, Social Policy and Social Work Department, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. E-mail: vmr1{at}york.ac.uk or vryan{at}personal.karoo.co.uk
This article discusses a method of combined play therapy/family therapy for looked after and late adopted children and their carers, namely Filial Therapy. Recently introduced into the UK, Filial Therapy’s well-developed practice base and growing body of research findings in North American are presented here. The rationale for employing the method of non-directive play therapy, on which Filial Therapy is based, with children who have been maltreated is outlined. Case vignettes are used to demonstrate that Filial Therapy is suitable for using with children who have multiple problems, since it is attachment oriented as well as able to help children address their traumatic, abusive memories and emotional defences through play. Filial Therapy also helps carers develop stronger and more adaptive relationships with their children, reducing their stress levels and heightening their care-giving responses. Filial Therapy seems highly viable as a robust, cost-effective, treatment strategy to strengthen new and troubled placements. However, there remain important questions to be addressed via future research in the UK.
Keywords: filial therapy, attachment therapy, non-directive play therapy, child maltreatment, looked after and late adopted children