Why Parents Prematurely Terminate Therapy
Wouldn’t it be great to know why a parent pulls a child out of therapy prematurely? Sometimes it’s obvious; chaotic environment, lack of resources, lousy treatment plan, or a disagreement with the therapist. But sometimes parents just cancel or no show and we never hear from them again. Certainly we can call them and we may get some useful information, but even that can be suspect. However, there is a time that I think we do get some clear and helpful feedback. That’s when we hear about the child’s last therapist. This week I heard from a child that his previous therapist tried to act “cool”, but really wasn’t. OK, check, don’t act fake. I hope I have that one down by now. Often, the parents will report that nothing changed. Again, check. That’s a valid complaint. Monitor progress. And there’s the rub. I hear over and over again about child therapists who do not talk to the parents. I ask, "what was the therapist’s impression?" I get a either a vague summation or a report that the therapist never gave any feedback. Ok, "what was the therapist working on?" Again, the parent doesn’t know. Alright then, “what were the doing in therapy?” Parent’s response, “they were just playing and the therapist was letting them do whatever they want.”
So here I begin to think some play therapists are really letting kids down and could do a better job. Parents need to be educated about play therapy, play therapists need to have clear goals, and they need to monitor progress. A great tool for educating parents about play therapy is the brochure from The Association for Play Therapy (which we should all belong to). The brochure is available for purchase, or download the following page from their web site: http://www.a4pt.org/ps.playtherapy.cfm?ID=1653. I like to meet with parents at least for a few minutes every 3-4 sessions. I get the child's permission, I review confidentiality, and give feedback to the child about we discussed. If there is a need for extensive discussion I will schedule a parent meeting.
Add your comments. How do you work with parents and ensure children stay in treatment?
So here I begin to think some play therapists are really letting kids down and could do a better job. Parents need to be educated about play therapy, play therapists need to have clear goals, and they need to monitor progress. A great tool for educating parents about play therapy is the brochure from The Association for Play Therapy (which we should all belong to). The brochure is available for purchase, or download the following page from their web site: http://www.a4pt.org/ps.playtherapy.cfm?ID=1653. I like to meet with parents at least for a few minutes every 3-4 sessions. I get the child's permission, I review confidentiality, and give feedback to the child about we discussed. If there is a need for extensive discussion I will schedule a parent meeting.
Add your comments. How do you work with parents and ensure children stay in treatment?
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