“When parents learn CPRT skills, the whole family grows.” 

Child-Parent Relationship Training is a structured, evidence-based program that teaches parents how to apply play therapy principles and skills to enhance their relationship with their child, reduce behavioral problems, and support emotional development. The focus is to help parents understand their child’s needs and emotions, while building stronger communication and attachment. Parents are taught how to become therapeutic agents for their child by learning reflective listening, limit setting, encouragement versus praise, and how to have special therapeutic playtimes at home with their children. Child-Parent Relationship Training equips parents with the therapeutic skills to connect more deeply with their children, reduce conflict, and support healthy development through the power of play and relationship-focused interactions. This can strengthen the parent-child relationship, reduce oppositional or defiant behaviors, increase parental confidence and empathy, and help children express emotions more appropriately. 

Over ten weeks, parents learn to create special playtimes that strengthen trust and connection, use reflective listening to help the child feel heard and understood, set loving, consistent limits that reduce power struggles, and, encourage confidence and self-control through positive communication.