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Sibling therapy with children under three

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Abstract

This paper explores the premise that very young siblings from dysfunctional families may be helped to provide each other with a stable emotional bond even when the children are in foster care and its is determined that the children cannot return to their parents. Methods of seeing siblings together in play therapy sessions with their primary caregivers and multiple therapists are described. Case examples and descriptions of therapeutic interventions illustrate how this approach may help modify dysfunctional patterns of interaction, maintain the sibling group in the same home, and promote their sense of family connectedness as a vital component of their emotional well-being.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry, Center for Infant Study, University of Maryland, 408 W. Lombard Street, 21201, Baltimore, Maryland

    Carole Norris-Shortle LCSW-C

  2. private practice in Washington, DC, Washington, DC, USA

    Nancy Donohure Colletta Ph.D.

  3. the Children's Guild, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, DC, USA

    Martha Beyer Cohen LGSW (clinical social worker)

  4. Foundation Intermediate School, Landover, Maryland, Washington, DC, USA

    Regina McCombs LCSW-C

Authors
  1. Carole Norris-Shortle LCSW-C
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  2. Nancy Donohure Colletta Ph.D.
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  3. Martha Beyer Cohen LGSW
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  4. Regina McCombs LCSW-C
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Norris-Shortle, C., Colletta, N.D., Cohen, M.B. et al. Sibling therapy with children under three. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 12, 251–261 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01875978

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01875978

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