Influences on the inclusion of children in family therapy

This study examined factors that influence family therapists to include children in or exclude them from therapy sessions. We hypothesized that therapist comfort, child problem type (internalizing vs. externalizing), family composition (one- vs. two-parent families), and presenting problem (child-oriented problem vs. adult-oriented problem) affect therapists' inclusion of children. A survey of clinical members of AAMFT found that half of the therapists excluded children on the basis of their comfort and that those who felt more comfortable were more likely to include children in sessions. Therapists included children more frequently in cases of an internalizing vs. an externalizing child, more with single-parent than two-parent families, and more often when the presenting problem focused on a child than on an adult. Implications of the findings are discussed.