ABSTRACT
Parents are introduced to the basic premises and objectives of Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), emphasizing children’s use of play to communicate their experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Training focuses on helping parents develop sensitivity to their children’s emotional world through the skill of reflective responding. Parents are taught the essential “Be-With” Attitudes-I’m here, I hear you, I understand, and I care-as the way to nonverbally convey empathy to their children. Parents introduce themselves and their family and briefly discuss parenting concerns. The primary objective in Session 1 is to structure the group training format to create a safe and comfortable environment for parents to share, with particular emphasis on linking parents’ experiences to help them see that they are not alone in their parenting struggles. This chapter concludes with the partial transcript of CPRT Session 1 for the group of parents introduced in Chapter 6 and illustrates the
128 Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT)
focus on group dynamics, with key concepts and teaching points skillfully woven throughout.
