Working with Parents: Establishing the Essential Alliance in Child Psychotherapy and Consultation

Establishing a working alliance with parents is essential to the successful treatment of children. How to create and sustain that alliance - how to engage parents in the treatment process and overcome the challenges built into the ambiguity of parent/therapist interdependence, how to have an impact on parenting styles and develop partnerships to foster children's growth - is the problem Diana Siskind explores with the authority of an educator and the wisdom of an active clinician. Integrating theory and technique to provide the practitioner with the tools to elicit collaboration from parents instead of obstruction, Siskind makes it possible for child therapists to sustain the interest, curiosity, neutrality, and empathy that are preconditions to effective treatment.