ABSTRACT
The practice of psychotherapy with the parents of children with emotional problems has received wide recognition in the child welfare field. This chapter deals with a specific population-the parents of emotionally disturbed children; a specific setting-the residential treatment center; and a specific therapeutic procedure-group psychotherapy. The literature on residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children indicates that psychotherapy with parents is accepted both as philosophically sound and as good practice. The chapter is concerned with reporting the experience of two psychotherapy groups of parents of children with severe emotional disturbances who are resident in the Children's Study Home, Springfield, Massachusetts. The record of the 12 sessions reveals quite clearly that these parents were able, through the group therapy method, to become involved with each other and with the agency to a much greater extent than they had through their previous agency contacts.
