Marriage and Family Therapy Programs:
Acknowledging the Voices of Child Clients
The purpose of the professional issue position paper was to investigate the provision of play therapy courses in marriage and family therapy (MFT) programs. Although marriage and family therapists encounter child clients, they are often inadequately trained to interact effectively with children or deliberately exclude them from family therapy (Johnson & Thomas, 1990; Cederborg, 1997; Cox, 1997; Raimondi & Walters, 2004; Lund, Zimmerman, & Haddock, 2002). Play therapy was proposed as a means of enabling therapists to better assist young children in the therapeutic process. Through a qualitative review of literature, the following areas were explored: (a) the historical development of play therapy; (b) the applicability of play therapy that meets the developmental needs and abilities of children; and (c) the utilization of play therapy strategies. This exploration also showed that professionals working with children often rely on play therapy. However, without appropriate training, their application of play therapy may not achieve the intended results.
Although children are often direct or indirect clients in marriage and family therapy (MFT), research studies have shown that many marriage and family therapists are either not well trained to work with children or deliberately exclude them from family therapy. This lack of training is manifested in the therapists' inadequate knowledge of child development and their unfamiliarity with interacting with children (Greenwood, 1985; Johnson & Thomas, 1999; Korner & Brown, 1990; Ruble, 1999; Setchel, 1998, as cited in Hanney & Kozlowska, 2002). "Moreover, family therapy theory and practice has continued to emphasize the use of language as a primary therapeutic tool" (Benson, 1991; Cederborg, 1997; Clarke, 1999; Dare & Lindsey, 1979; Dowling & Jones, 1978; Kozlowska & Hanney, 1999; Sanders, 1985, as cited in ...