Filial Family Therapy is a unique blend of family therapy and play therapy designed to nurture deeper connection between children and their caregivers and build their child’s emotional development.
Rather than the therapist working directly with the child, parents are supported and trained to take an active role in their child’s therapeutic journey through weekly, structured play sessions.
This approach empowers parents to step into the healing process, using play as a bridge to strengthen emotional bonds, enhance communication, and promote emotional regulation.
How It Works
Filial Family Therapy is a collaborative process involving the parent and therapist working together over time. Parents are not expected to do this alone—they are guided and supported every step of the way.
- Parents participate in 10 weekly training sessions with a certified Filial Therapist Facilitator, where they learn specific therapeutic play skills grounded in empathy, presence, and non-directiveness.
- With supervised support, they begin to facilitate weekly 30-minute play sessions with their child at home, using a child-led approach that honours the child’s internal world.
- These play sessions are mostly non-directive, giving the child space to take the lead, while the parent applies the play therapy facilitation skills of deep reflective listening, limit setting, and emotional attunement.
- The therapist offers ongoing supervision and coaching post training sessions anywhere between 5 to 10 (dependent on need), helping parents process their own emotional responses and deepen their understanding of their child’s play and relational dynamics.
Together, these time-limited weekly home playtimes become a relational ritual—a safe, consistent space where the child feels emotionally held, and where the parent builds confidence in holding space with curiosity, empathy, and trust.
Who Is It For?
Filial Family Therapy is ideal for families with children aged 3 to 12, especially when:
- A child is experiencing emotional regulation challenges
- There’s been a rupture or strain in the parent-child relationship
- A child is displaying low self-esteem or social difficulties
- The family is seeking more meaningful connection through play
- Parents are already on a journey of inner work and self-reflection
Whether your family is working through a specific challenge or simply looking to deepen connection, Filial Therapy offers a structured yet flexible path forward.
Why Choose Filial Therapy?
At The Family Systems Hub, we understand that early family relationships shape who we are—how we relate, how we regulate, and how we feel about ourselves.
Filial Therapy offers:
- A non-judgemental, therapeutic environment for parent-child connection
- Support to reframe old stories and unwind stuck patterns
- Tools to help both parent and child co-regulate and communicate with more ease
- Guidance to navigate the emotional intensity of fight, flight, or shutdown responses
Opportunities to heal intergenerational dynamics through presence and play
The Deeper Work
In these relational sessions, we support parents and children to build greater tolerance for big emotions—especially those that feel challenging or overwhelming. Often, these emotional reactions are linked to past experiences that remain unprocessed in the nervous system.
Our aim is to help families move from reactive cycles toward grounded, regulated connection—where both parent and child feel safe, seen, and supported.
