High school students as therapeutic agents with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties: The effectiveness of a filial therapy training model.

Filial therapy has been used since the early 1960s to train parents as therapeutic agents for children experiencing a broad range of social, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, this study examined the efficacy of a filial therapy model in training high school students to be effective helpers with young children experiencing school adjustment difficulties. 32 high school students enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership course titled PALs were trained to become therapeutic change agents for identified prekindergarten and kindergarten students. The PALs students received training and supervision in child-centered play therapy skills that they practiced in weekly play sessions with their assigned child. Results from the statistical analyses reveal that the experimental group of high school students receiving filial therapy training demonstrated a significant increase in their empathic interactions with children and that the experimental group of children receiving the play therapy intervention experienced a significant reduction in problem behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)