This controversial book proposes that therapists work with parents in therapy rather than with the child. The authors argue that parent therapy is not only a useful alternative to individual child treatment, but is also more effective in helping the child. Parent therapy rests on a relational understanding of development. The point of entry for the treatment process is the parent-child relationship and is developed through maternal and paternal histories and projections. Parent therapy focuses on the parents' understanding of themselves, their relationship with each other and with their...

Today more pediatric therapists are centering their work on the parent-child relationship and are turning to parents as a primary modality in solving children's problems. Parent-Focused Child Therapy: Attachment, Identification, and Reflective Functions is an edited collection, drawing from leading psychotherapists with specialties in family therapy. Carrol Wachs and Linda Jacobs tap into the current literature on the efficacy of working with parents in therapy situations. The collected essays in this book, from renowned psychotherapists, focus on identifying and evaluating a variety of...