ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on working with parents, their attitudes toward parent-child art psychotherapy, ways of engaging and involving parents in therapy to achieve more beneficial therapeutic outcomes, and specific intervention techniques. It draws on key intervention techniques implemented by art therapists when they meet with parents for training during parent-child art psychotherapy. Listening to the parents affirms the importance of their knowledge of themselves, and the child, and helps the therapist understand the bigger picture outside of the therapy room. Many therapists addressed the need to highlight the child’s positive qualities as a way to help parents play an active role in the therapeutic process. Many therapists pointed out that when parents choose to address emotional issues related to them, the therapist will try to connect the content to parenthood and the relationship with the child in therapy. Some therapists addressed the issues of jealousy that arise during parent-child psychotherapy.
