Compendium of practices for including children in family sessions

The approach to involving children in family counselling described here is based on three principles. First, at an ethical level children have a right to participate in the process of solving problems of living which they and their families face. Second, at a pragmatic level counselling has a better chance of success if those involved in the problem, including children, participate in the solution. Third, at a theoretical level, methods of engaging children in counselling must be based on an integration of therapeutic practices and an appreciation of the psychology of child development. A fuller account of the use of these techniques in the practice of family therapy and child and adolescent clinical psychology are contained elsewhere.