Children as Participants in Family Therapy: Practice, Research, and Theoretical Concerns

Abstract

The inclusion of children in family therapy is an issue that has been largely overlooked in the research literature. Although many of the founders of family systems approaches espouse the inclusion of children in therapy, today family systems therapists are often not working with the entire family. In practice, family counselors more often than not exclude children or include them when convenient or by default. Reasons for this dichotomy are explored and implications for practice and training are discussed. An inventory of questions for professionals to consider including children in their own practice is offered.