ABSTRACT
The first and most important point of collaboration is with the child's parents, guardians and caregivers. They know far more about the child than a therapist ever will; they are typically the most invested and motivated. Coordinating treatment with other players in the child's system is often a critical piece in providing effective treatment. In addition to parents and other professionals, children have extended family, youth leaders, and parents of friends, imaginary friends, toys, and pets as resources which can all be mined for therapeutic success. Children may or may not be invited to the team meeting, but they usually know it is happening and likely have an opinion on how it should go. Identifying and building on strengths and collaborative goal setting is critically important with involuntary clients. Family members, teachers, caseworkers, probation officers, judges, and attorneys are a few entities that might require a child to attend therapy.
