DVIP Children’s Therapy Services- Filial Play Coaching: “Together Time” Information Sheet Dear Professionals, We are please to announce that DVIP’s Children’s Therapy Team is piloting a new form of family therapy called Filial Play Coaching. We have called our service “Together Time”. Filial play is a therapeutic approach that coaches parents and carers to bond with their children through play by teaching parents basic child-centred, non-directive play skills, and building their confidence in taking such an approach with their children. This has been proven to be especially effective for children who have witnessed or experienced domestic abuse because the parent child bond has been adversely affected by the abuse. We have developed a Filial Play Coaching model specifically for families affected by domestic abuse. This involves carrying out an initial therapeutic needs and safety assessment with the parent and child to identify suitable participants. Following this we meet with the parent to introduce Filial Play and explore their expectations and their child’s needs. We also do a 1 hour play observation session with the parent and child at our children’s centre from which we develop an individual support plan detailing specific areas to work on. We then deliver group training sessions to provide parents with play therapy skills so that they can put in place Filial Play at home. The work is carried out by Filial Play Coaches and the whole process is monitored and evaluated. The parents who have already accessed this service expressed enthusiasm in starting Filial Play Coaching to repair their bond with their child in the aftermath of domestic abuse, in particular to:

“Learn how to gain my daughter’s trust” “Help my child’s emotional needs” “Create a positive atmosphere at home” “Understand how my child may express herself through play” “Communicate better with my son”

Filial Play training consisting of 6 group sessions covering the following topics:

1. Introduction to the service, establishing ground rules and discussing hopes and expectations.

2. Exploring their own childhood and experiences of parenting and discussing their fears and anxieties regarding parenting.

3. Setting boundaries, establishing consistency and predictability. 4. Demonstration of a play session through role play and looking at filial play skills. 5. Exploring how to hold the child in the play space and develop child-centred play

skills through role play. 6. Recap on boundaries, consistency and commitment, differentiating between filial

play and usual play and exploring use of reflective skills i.e. how to respond to the child during play.

Feedback from the Parents accessed to Filial Coaching Group: Through the evaluations from the group skills training sessions, mums tell us that they have benefited from learning new ways of being with their children and responding to them. They have learnt how to be 100% present with their child and how to put in place consistent and structured play sessions with clear boundaries. They have fed back to us that:

- they have “developed awareness of how to interpret feelings” and “have knowledge about ways of approaching children” - “it’s helping us to connect with our child and support them through play” - “it’s important to be consistent to not let the child down” - “it will help me find the balance in keeping discipline for the child” - “I think more about special time with my child”

They have also already begun to notice an improvement in the quality of the time they spend with their child. They also told us about the benefits of learning in a group setting and receiving peer support. It helped them to recognise and acknowledge that they were not alone in their experiences and that other mums faced the same fears and anxieties. We would welcome the opportunity to attend your VAWG forum or team meetings to present our services. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information. Kind regards, Hasret Tekin (MPTUK, MBPsS) Children’s Therapy Services Manager Stephen’s Place Children’s Centre 1a Ravenscourt Road Hammersmith London W6 0UH Tel: 0208 748 8298 Working days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday