What is Filial Therapy you ask- Filial Therapy is a form of Family Therapy in which parents are trained in a set of skills to inhabit the role of therapeutic change agent in their child's life. Whereas in traditional Play Therapy the Play Therapist is providing therapy to the child​, in Filial Therapy the parent is offered education and guidance for how to meet some of those very same needs at home. 

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"Filial Therapy has been shown through 50 years of research and clinical experience to be an effective intervention for children and families experiencing a variety of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. This unique therapy involve parents as the primary agents to resolve child-related problems, to encourage children's healthy psychosocial development, and to strengthen entire families. Filial therapists train and supervise parents as the parents conduct child-centered play sessions with their children, an approach that not only helps eliminate presenting problems but also strengthens parent-child and family relationships." (VanFleet, 2014)

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Guerney, the originator of Filial Therapy, noted that when parents play with their children in a therapeutic way, children are offered the opportunity to communicate thoughts, feelings, and needs that may not be expressed in the family's typical day-to-day life. 

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Benefits of Filial Therapy include-

• Understanding your child's emotional needs

• Communicating more effectively with your child

• Helping your child develop self-control

• Regaining control as a parent

• Effectively disciplining & limiting inappropriate behavior

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Laura also offers Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, a 10-week Filial Therapy group.