Child Parent Relationship Therapy: A Powerful Caregiving Resource
I’ll admit it. When I became a caregiver, I was significantly overwhelmed by the responsibility to learn so many things, so fast. No one could have prepared me for it.
Over time, I became increasingly confident in my ability to attune and respond to my son’s physiological and emotional needs. I even began experiencing those rewarding moments of joy and peace that no one could have prepared me for - those moments that arrived without warning - with a sleeping baby, sighing deeply next to me. Such a deep love washed over me.
But then, the whiplash of toddlerhood arrived. I looked around and there he was - looking up at me and saying things like, “No!”, throwing things, running away from me, refusing to sit in the car seat when I HAD to get to work, crying for reasons I either could not fathom, or for reasons that made no logical sense to me.
Being confronted with a sense of limited (to no) self-efficacy, I had to face my caregiving perfectionism once again. I first entered into power struggles with him unknowingly, then knowingly. I played the “do it because I said so” out of desperation.
And I left those moments feeling depleted, detached, frustrated - knowing that I could do better if only I knew how.
It wasn’t until my son was 13 years old that I learned about Child Parent Relationship Therapy. Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) is an evidenced-based 10-week group therapy program in which the therapist teaches and mentors parents and caregivers of children in learning the skills that can be used during their own “special playtimes” with their child.
One of my most fulfilling joys in my work as a play therapist has been witnessing the power that a relationship based on unconditional positive regard has on a child’s sense of self - as worthy, capable, responsible, loving, and lovable. Teaching caregivers how to do this with their children and preadolescents has been of utmost importance for me as a clinician because I believe in the power of their relationship with their children.
Developed by doctors Garry Landreth and Sue Bratton at the Center for Play Therapy, CPRT’s aim “is to strengthen the quality of the parent-child attachment bond as a means of reducing child behavior problems and stress in the parent-child relationship”.¹
CPRT is designed for parents and caregivers of children who are about 3 to about 10 years of age. Each session is about 1 ½ to 2 hours and is made up of about 3-6 parents/caregivers. During the course of the therapy, participants are taught the fundamental skills of Child Centered Play Therapy and practice them at home with their child of focus. Parents and caregivers are provided with supportive and interactive feedback by the therapist and other participants.
CPRT seeks to support parents and caregivers to learn how to:
Regain control without using aversive discipline strategies
Help the child of focus develop self-control
Support parents and caregivers in implementing more effective discipline & limit inappropriate behavior
See the world through their child’s eyes and understand the child’s emotional needs with greater effectiveness and ease.
While I didn’t have the opportunity to learn and implement these skills with my child when he was younger, I can say, without a doubt, that my sense of caregiving greatly improved as a result of learning to see the world through my child’s eyes, which I must say, is one of the most life-changing forces in my life.
For more information about CPRT as outlined by the Center for Play Therapy, please visit https://cpt.unt.edu/what-child-parent-relationship-therapy.
References:
¹https://cpt.unt.edu/what-child-parent-relationship-therapy