Young children's participation in family therapy talk

The lack of empirical knowledge about how young children participate in family therapy talk highlights the question of their participant status in the therapeutic process. The specific question this study addresses is what kind of participant status young children (4-7 Years old) acquire in family therapy talk. Time space analyses were compared with word space analyses of children's participation. Participant status was seen partly as the result of ongoing negotiations, The therapist and parents were the subjects acting with respect to the child, who became the object of their actions. From the perspective of the child; this meant that he or she was primarily accorded the status of a nonperson. The findings of this study raise questions about how family therapy theories have been interpreted in clinical work, especially in therapies concerning families whose young children are symptom-bearers.