University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2019 A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Parents' Experiences with Long-Term Filial Therapy Blair Vincent University of Tennessee, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Vincent, Blair, "A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Parents' Experiences with Long-Term Filial Therapy. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2019. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5936 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Blair Vincent entitled "A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Parents' Experiences with Long-Term Filial Therapy." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Counselor Education. Jeffrey Cochran, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Joel Diambra, Jennifer Morrow, Kathy Fitzgerald Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Parents’ Experiences with Long-Term Filial Therapy A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Blair Sumner Vincent August 2019 ii Copyright © 2019 by Blair Sumner Vincent All rights reserved. iii Dedication In loving memory of my grandmother, Betty Jo Helton. In honor of my talented, beautiful, amazing son, Hunter Ryan Mynatt. You have been with me every step of the way. All this means nothing without you! The greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 iv Acknowledgements A special thanks to Dr. Jeannine Studer. Over a decade ago, you encouraged me to come back to school to be a counselor educator. And I did! Thank you for believing in me. A most sincere thank you to my committee chair, Dr. Jeff Cochran. You and I have been on this journey together for a long time. Thank you for never, ever giving up on me! The play therapy class taught by both you and Nancy, lit the flame for this dissertation and taught me the skills that changed both my professional and personal life. Nancy, thank you for all of your help with my study. Dr. Cochran, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to my remaining committee members, Dr. Joel Diambra, who has pushed (sometimes really hard!) me into being a stronger researcher and writer; Dr. Jennifer Morrow, who has been my model of exceptional graduate level teaching – we both know I am an “ESM- er” at heart; and Dr. Kathy Fitzgerald, who has shared her profound knowledge of both the phenomenological method and child development. Thank you all for your valuable feedback and amazing flexibility! I am honored to have had such an esteemed committee. I would also like to thank several staff members at The University of Tennessee. First, Julie Hardin at the Graduate School. You never have to get another form from me! Thank you for being a lovely person and supporting me through all of life’s changes. Also, thank you to Tammy Loy and Jennifer Engle at The Institution Review Board for being absolutely amazing! Thank you to Mary Wynn for being a part of my data analysis team. I look forward to returning the favor for you one day! I would also like to thank my friends that have supported me throughout my Doctoral program. Drs. Carolyn Brewer and Mike Bundy, both of whom took a risk and trusted me to v teach at Carson-Newman University for several years. The love and concern you poured out on me will never be forgotten. The students at Carson-Newman were blessed to have learned from both of you. Special thanks to beautiful friends I have made along this journey, Drs. Amber Hughes, Ann Cisney Booth, and Cate Smith. Your encouragement and friendship have been unfailing while juggling work, motherhood, and all that life brings. I would like to acknowledge my co-counselor, Lauren Baker. It is a joy to work alongside a counselor of your caliber! It makes it even better that you are also my dearest friend. I could not have finished without you. Next, I would like to thank my wonderful family. I am grateful to my parents, Philip and Laura Sumner, for creating a home that was permeated with love. Thank you for being my guiding lights. Butch and Judy Vincent, you are the most wonderful in-laws anyone could ever hope for. Bryan, I am so thankful that you are mine. You add to my happiness every, single day! Thank you for jumping on this rollercoaster of a life with me – hands up! Lastly, Hunter and Presley, there could not be two more wonderful children in the whole widest of worlds. Thank you for making my life complete. You are both my greatest joys in life. And finally, thank you to my Lord Jesus Christ for saving me and blessing me with so much more than I ever deserved. vi Abstract Filial therapy is an effective intervention for children and their families (Lin & Bratton, 2015). At the conclusion of filial therapy training, parents are encouraged to continue holding filial sessions with their children at home. Using descriptive phenomenology, this study sought to describe parents’ experiences with long-term filial therapy. This study focused on the experience of parents who continued holding sessions for at least one year after parent training sessions terminated. The author utilized Creswell’s (2007) simplified version of Moustakas’s (1994) Modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data to analyze six participant interviews. The in-depth interviews yielded seven themes: reasons for coming to filial therapy; descriptions of filial sessions; filial therapy and the process of change; ending filial therapy; child benefits; parent benefits; and parent and child benefits. The author developed a textural description of the phenomenon of long-term filial therapy. The structural description of long-term therapy had four major components: realization, routine, rearrangement, and rewards. Further, the author integrated the textural and structural descriptions to create the essence of long-term filial therapy. The author discussed these findings as they relate to implications for filial therapists and provided suggestions for future research. vii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 5 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 5 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 6 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 6 Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................................. 7 Organization of the Study ................................................................................................... 8 Chapter Two: Review of Literature ............................................................................................ 9 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 9 Children and Play ................................................................................................................ 9 Parent Involvement ........................................................................................................... 11 Overview of Play Therapy ................................................................................................ 13 Overview of Child-Centered Play Therapy ...................................................................... 18 Overview of Filial Therapy ............................................................................................... 27 Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) ..................................................................... 32 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Three: Methodology .................................................................................................... 38 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 38 Qualitative Design ............................................................................................................ 38 Phenomenology................................................................................................................