This parent training model, which has been used for more than twenty years, requires parents to meet together weekly in groups to hone their skills and discuss their progress as surrogate play therapists. For more information on parent training techniques, see The Handbook of Parent Training , J. Breismeister and C. Schaefer, eds, John Wiley and Sons, 1997. Family Meetings Family meetings are a useful technique to enhance both communication and social skills in children. Sometimes counselors make the mistake of prescribing family meetings in a casual way, as if this were an easy thing for parents to do. But most families who come for help with a specific problem also have a general problem with communication.
Family meetings are most effective when they are prescribed on a weekly basis.
Ask parents to set aside a ninety-minute block of time at a specific time during the week. Like any good meeting, there should be an agenda and rules. It is important that parents and children recognize that a family is not a democracy, where the majority vote determines important decisions. Parents should seek their children's input on every issue, but they must ultimately retain the power for making appropriate decisions. Family meetings provide an important opportunity to teach children social skills.