1-1 CHILD–PARENT RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Get to know your child more deeply.

Bring the power of play therapy into everyday life with your child.

Learn core child-centred play therapy skills in one-hour 1-1 sessions with Dr Sam Casey. Practise with your child at home, then receive individual feedback on what you find difficult.

Not another list of things you should be doing. A supported way to understand your child and be alongside them without every interaction becoming something to manage.

Book your initial consultation

Start with a one-hour consultation to discuss what is happening and whether 1-1 CPRT is right for your family.

Another reward chart. Another behaviour plan. And you are still exhausted.

Use a reward chart. Be more consistent. Praise the behaviour you want. Follow through on the consequence.

Perhaps you have tried all of it. Maybe something helps for a while. Maybe it does not. But you still feel as though your day revolves around watching, reminding, negotiating and correcting.

Getting dressed becomes a battle. Leaving the house takes more out of you than the outing itself. By bedtime, you have spent so much energy trying to keep things on track that you have very little left for simply being with your child.

Even playing together can feel like another situation you have to keep under control.

You find yourself waiting for a break. Sometimes you notice that you do not want to spend more time together, because you expect it to be hard work. That can be difficult to admit when you love your child so much.

You do not necessarily need another strategy to use on them. You need support with what is happening between you, and a way to be together that is not built around correcting the next behaviour.

Get to know your child's inner world.

Through play, you can begin to understand more of your child's thoughts, feelings and experiences, including the things they do not yet have words for.

You learn how to be alongside them as they express themselves and make sense of what is happening in their world. To listen, recognise what they are feeling and make room for their experience, without needing to rush in and fix every feeling.

It is a chance to get to know your child more deeply and help them feel understood.

You learn how to follow your child's lead, recognise and reflect their feelings, communicate acceptance and set appropriate limits while staying connected. You practise these skills with your child, then bring your experience back to our sessions.

We look at what happened, where you felt stuck and what you can try next. You are not left to figure it out from a handout or a prerecorded lesson.

What is CPRT?

Child–Parent Relationship Therapy, or CPRT, is a play therapy-based treatment in which a parent learns child-centred play therapy skills to use with their own child. It focuses on the parent–child relationship: helping you understand your child’s emotional and behavioural needs, and connect through play.

In Dr Sam’s 1-1 therapeutic service, you learn the skills, practise them with your child at home and receive individual support with what is happening for your family. CPRT is not a list of parenting rules or an educational course.

Read the US Prevention Services Clearinghouse description and review of the standard CPRT model.

Who is CPRT for and what ages?

Standard CPRT programme information describes it for parents of children aged 2–10 who are experiencing emotional, behavioural, social or relationship difficulties. It may be worth exploring when everyday life is marked by conflict, difficult feelings, behaviour that worries you or strain in the relationship.

The 2–10 age range describes the standard programme and its research. It is not a promise that 1-1 CPRT will suit every child in that range. Your child’s needs and whether this work is appropriate for your family are discussed in the initial consultation.

10 × one-hour sessions

What parents learn and how it works

Parents learn child-centred play therapy skills: following their child’s lead in play, recognising and reflecting feelings, making room for choices and problem-solving, and setting clear limits while staying connected.

In one-hour 1-1 therapy sessions, Dr Sam explains and demonstrates the skills. You practise them with your child at home, then bring back what you noticed—and anything that felt difficult—for individual feedback. Once you are ready, the home-practice rhythm is a 30-minute child-led play session each week.

The ten-session package provides a treatment structure. The pace of 1-1 work is discussed with you, rather than presented as a promise that therapy will take exactly ten calendar weeks.

Start with an initial consultation. You can then book sessions as you go or choose the ten-session package.

Your sessions include:

Learn core child-centred play therapy skills. I explain the skills, show you what they look like and help you practise.
Weekly special playtime at home. Once you are prepared, have a 30-minute play session with your child each week to practise the skills.
Individual feedback. Bring notes, reflections or recordings from your play sessions, depending on what you feel comfortable sharing. We discuss what happened, what you found hard and what you can try next.
Handouts and practical tasks. Clear materials and manageable practice tasks support what you are learning between sessions.
A progress review and a plan to continue. We reflect on the work and discuss how to keep using the skills after our work together.

You learn the skills, practise with your child and bring the experience back for feedback. That is the core rhythm of the work.

Fee for ten one-hour sessions: $2,000 AUD. The initial consultation is separate.

You get support, too.

When your child becomes frustrated, refuses your help or pushes a limit, you might find yourself feeling angry, worried or unsure what to do.

We talk about what those moments are like for you—your feelings, the pressure you are carrying and what you need in the relationship, too.

There is room to understand your own experience, not just focus on your child's behaviour. You receive individual support as you learn the play therapy skills, without being expected to already know what to say or do.

What CPRT is working towards

CPRT aims to strengthen the parent–child relationship as a foundation for your child's emotional and behavioural well-being. The play sessions, skills practice and individual feedback all serve that relationship.

A stronger relationship with your child.

Regular special playtime gives your child room to lead, express themselves and experience your attention and acceptance. The focus is on being together, rather than performing or getting something right.

A deeper understanding of your child's feelings and needs.

Through following your child's play and recognising and reflecting their feelings, you learn more about their experience—not only the behaviour you can see. We explore what you notice together in our sessions.

Less strain in the parent–child relationship.

CPRT works towards reducing stress between you and your child. You receive support with the play sessions and with setting limits that recognise your child's feelings while keeping appropriate boundaries.

Support for your child's emotional and behavioural difficulties.

CPRT addresses these concerns through the relationship, giving your child opportunities to express feelings through play and experience being understood. We keep the concerns that brought you here in view as we review the work together.

These are the aims of the work, not promised results. Each family's needs and experience will be different.

Meet Dr Sam Casey

I believe in the power of child therapy. I also believe that children should have opportunities to feel understood, express themselves and grow outside the therapy room.

I bring my experience as a child therapist into work with parents, alongside practical therapeutic play skills. I am interested in the child in front of us and the adult alongside them, including the expectations, experiences and needs that enter the relationship with you.

My aim is to support you in getting to know your child and yourself more deeply, while developing ways of being together that make room for both of you.

Registered Play Therapist. Accredited Mental Health Social Worker. PhD in Psychology with a focus on play therapy. More than 21 years working with children and families.

Start with an initial consultation

One hour with Dr Sam: $225 AUD.

Book a consultation to discuss what is happening with your child, what you have already tried and what you would like support with.

If 1-1 CPRT is a good fit, you can then book sessions as you go or choose the ten-session package. I will email you the booking links and the information you need to get started.

The initial consultation is separate from these sessions.