24-7 A Case Study of Transcendental Object-Relationship in Filial Therapy
The aim of this study was to understand the influence in parental relations through filial therapy. The targeted subjects included one mother and her son. The mother did not just take part in “filial therapy training program”, but participated in the parental play sessions with the child for the total of 30, 40-minute sessions (one meeting held each week). The research is based upon the transcripts from filial therapy sessions and the analysis of two interviews with the mother, including pre and post-treatment. The results are the following:
1. In the process of filial therapy program learning, while the researcher plays an external object, the different internal object mirrors within the mother; this helps to reflect mother’s self- image and mother’s changes in attitude.
2. The researcher’s self-image and intervention during program training enhances the changes in the mother’s self-image and attitudes, in which the mother becomes the child’s self-object (the “good enough” mother).
3. The attitude and image changes of the external mother enable the reconstruction of internal objects within the child in the filial therapy play sessions.
4. The reconstructed object within the child helps in gaining more positive aspects of self.
5. Filial therapy enhances the relationship between the mother and the child. The mother can be more understanding and empathetic with the child, while a greater exchange of thoughts and feelings is observed between them.
Finally, the mother has an overall positive feeling towards her role after the filial therapy program.
Keywords
case study, filial therapy, object-relationship.
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