ABSTRACT
Counseling with children requires consideration of certain dimensions and aspects of the relationship not encountered in counseling with adults. Children usually are dependent on a significant adult, most often the parent, in their life to make arrangements for scheduling play therapy. Therefore, any effort by the therapist to be helpful to children must begin with consideration for the parameters of the relationship to be established with the parent. Will the parent be involved in therapy? What are the complexities involved in informing parents of children’s behavior in the playroom? Maintaining sensitivity to the complexity of the changing parental role in our society is a major challenge requiring awareness and sensitivity to high divorce rates, increasing numbers of single parents, changing parental roles, increasing levels of stress in families, and greater personal isolation. Such factors critically impact the parent’s level of involvement and directional intensity. Although parents today generally are more sophisticated about counseling, the therapist cannot assume they know
anything about play therapy. Parents also need assistance in informing their children about play therapy and how to help in the separation process for the first session.
