Play-Based Family Therapy: A Systemic Model for the Treatment of Preschool Children Who Have Witnessed Woman Abuse

Abstract

Research has begun to examine the effects of witnessing woman abuse on infants and preschool-age children. Understanding the factors that mediate these effects requires an examination of the internal and external influences on the child witness. This paper will briefly examine the systemic impact of family violence on the preschool-age witness, the mother, and the mother–child relationship and considers the mediating effect of each on the child's adjustment. The model proposes a developmentally relevant family play approach that uses interventions to address the systemic impact of the abuse and to improve the child's adjustment by strengthening both the internal and external influences on the child. Case illustrations will he used to highlight the interventions described in the model as they apply to the preschool-age child.