High school students as therapeutic agents with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties: The effectiveness of a filial therapy training model.

Abstract

Filial therapy has been used since the early 1960s to train parents as therapeutic agents for children experiencing a broad range of social, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, this study examined the efficacy of a filial therapy model in training high school students to be effective helpers with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties. High school students enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership course titled PALs were trained to become therapeutic change agents for identified pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students. The PALs students received training and supervision in child-centered play therapy skills that they practiced in weekly play sessions with their assigned child. Results from the statistical analyses revealed that the experimental group of high school students receiving filial therapy training demonstrated a significant increase in their empathic interactions with children and that the experimental group of children receiving the play therapy intervention experienced a significant reduction in problem behaviors.

How Effective Are Mentoring Programs for Youth? A Systematic Assessment of the Evidence

“…Subsequent to this review, at least three other reviews of mentoring program effectiveness have used meta-analysis (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2007;Tolan, Henry, Schoeny, & Bass, 2008;Wheeler et al, 2010). Two of the reviews were limited to outcomes relating to delinquency prevention (Tolan et al, 2008) or juvenile reoffending (Jolliffe & Farrington, 2007) and, for the most part, examined studies published within the time frame of the earlier review (DuBois, Holloway, et al, 2002). The third review (Wheeler et al, 2010) used metaanalysis to synthesize findings from three recent evaluations of school-based mentoring programs.…”

Impact of child teacher relationship training on teachers’ and aides’ use of relationship-building skills and the effects on student classroom behavior.

“…The C-TRF is a useful instrument in assessing the effects of treatment because it can be administered appropriately at various time points. The C-TRF has been used in other similar filial therapy studies (Jones, Rhine, & Bratton, 2002;Smith & Landreth, 2004).…”

Adaptation of the Child−Parent Relationship Therapy Model for use with senior citizen volunteers in school settings: A pilot study.

“…The children took part in an average of 20 play therapy sessions each. Before and after the study, the high school students were assessed by using the MEACI and the children's parents were given the CBCL, and the children's teachers were given the Early Childhood Behavior Scale (Jones et al, 2002). Researchers found statistically significant decreases in the total behavioral problems in the experimental group.…”

“…The teachers reported successful continued use of play therapy and empathy skills in the classroom setting. Jones, Rhine, and Bratton (2002) utilized a filial therapy model to work with high school students who participated in play therapy sessions with prekindergarten and kindergarten aged children. The children took part in an average of 20 play therapy sessions each.…”