Therapeutic Reintegration in Toronto, Ontario

Therapeutic Reintegration is counselling to restore parent-child contact and to reunite parents and their children when their relationship has been severed.

The reconnection between parent(s) and child(ren), is the main goal and benefit of reintegration therapy.

And with this comes many other benefits in areas like relationships and social skills, coping with stress or anger, and an overall increased quality of life.

What is Reunification Therapy?

Reunification therapy is a therapeutic process which aims to restore the relationship between a child and a parent when contact has been disrupted or damaged, often due to high conflict divorce, parental alienation, estrangement or a parental absence or separation. Therapy is intended to improve the relationship between the parent and child, address the difficulties within the family and support healthy and ongoing contact between the child and the rejected/absent parent.

This therapy can be voluntary and initiated by both parents on consent or court ordered. In cases where it is a closed therapeutic process, the therapeutic work remains confidential and focused solely on rebuilding trust and connection between the parent and the child. There is no information shared with external parties, such as lawyers and the court. However, both parents and all parties involved must cooperate for the therapy to be successful and support the healing process.

In other cases Reunification therapy can be part of an open or court-involved process, where the therapist will provide updates or progress reports to the court or legal professionals.
The parents will be required to sign a detailed Reunification Therapy agreement that describes the structured therapeutic process and outlines the terms of the intervention.

The process often begins with meeting each parent separately to get a good understanding of their perspectives, background information and discuss goals to help the family move forward.

But no matter the case, it is important that these interventions use a family therapy approach as we do at Toronto Family Therapy & Mediation Inc. This approach, as evidence suggests, is an effective way to manage and mediate family reintegration with successful results. (1), (2)

Reunification Therapy vs Reintegration Therapy – What is the Difference

Reunification Therapy

The terms Reunification Therapy and Reintegration Therapy are used interchangeably by lawyers, parents and mental health professionals. Both terms refer to the therapeutic process to help restore and rebuild parent child relationships after they have been disrupted. Reunification Therapy is typically used when there has been a strain or partial breakdown in the parent-child relationship, such as after a period of conflict, temporary disconnection or inconsistent contact.

Reintegration Therapy

The term Reintegration Therapy usually refers to a more intensive intervention, when there has been a complete rupture in the parent child relationship and the child refuses to have any contact with that parent. This often requires a more formal therapeutic intervention and is more likely to be court ordered.

However, these terms can vary and no matter what name is used to describe the intervention, the purpose of both therapeutic processes is to help parents and children take gradual steps to rebuild their relationship, build trust and restore the parent -child bond.

In both cases it is a family therapy intervention. The therapy is often in the child(ren) best interest and includes the entire family, not just the one parent and the child. Therapy may involve sessions with each parent individually, the child or the children individually and joint sessions in different combinations. Parent education is a large part of the therapeutic process. For example, when a child resists a parent, both parents will need to develop essential and specialized parenting skills to overcome the problem.

Therapeutic Reintegration can help restore parent-child contact

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Benefits of Reunification/Reintegration Therapy

Reintegration therapy will provide benefits for the entire family:

Establishing a healthy family environment
Reestablishing a safe and meaningful relationship with a parent that they have been estranged or disconnected from
Restoring a sense of belonging and attachment
Reducing conflict and tension in the family
Improved social skills among family members and co-parenting skills
Better coping mechanisms, especially as it relates to negative emotions like stress and anger
An enhanced quality of life.

Plus, each member of the family will see individual benefits. For children, the goal of reintegration therapy, in addition to creating healthy contact with parents, could include:

Reducing the negative view and attitudes towards parents, or others around them
Improving the child’s coping skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving
Minimizing the child’s involvement in conflict (3)

The goals for parents and the benefits they’ll see include:

Less reliance on outside supports
Improved co-parenting and parenting skills
Better coping skills for conflict, stress, or anger (3)
A better understanding of the needs of their children and the negative impact of detached parent-child relationships

Our Approach to Reintegration Therapy

We have specialized therapists on our team who have specific training and experience in this area and expertise in separation and divorce and court involved outcomes.

There are common frameworks and guidelines for Reunification or Reintegration therapy. However, at Toronto Family Therapy and Mediation, we recognize it. Every family is different. Each family comes with its own unique challenges, history, and family dynamics. We do not take a one-size-fits-all approach. We tailor the therapy processes to meet the specific needs of the family, consider the child’s readiness, the nature of the parent child disconnection, and the broader family context.

Reintegration/Reunification therapy is structured and goal-focused to help families establish safe and healthy relationships. Some key goals in the process often include improving the following:

Improving co-parenting dynamics
Reducing parental conflict
Supporting conflict resolution
Helping family members learn how to communicate more effectively
Helping parents and children manage difficult emotions
Developing critical thinking skills in children and perspective taking
Helping parents reflect on past breakdowns and take responsibility when appropriate to rebuild trust with their child
Learning the importance of forgiveness

Who Can Benefit from Reintegration Therapy?

The need for family reintegration therapy will arise for many reasons, oftentimes parental divorce or separation.

There may also be cases in which the child has rejected contact with a parent, has a problematic relationship with a parent, or is resisting the relationship with a parent.

When the entire immediate family is involved, everyone involved benefits from reintegration therapy.

Questions about Reunification Therapy & Next Steps?

Most families have never experienced Reunification Therapy, and will likely have lots of questions. They would like to know how it works, the process and how we ensure a balanced approach. We encourage you to call in to our offices, to share some information about your specific family circumstances and we will be happy to share information on our reunification process and next steps.

Contact our experienced team of professionals at Toronto Family Therapy & Mediation Inc. for a consultation with our Clinical Director, Joanna Seidel.

We can have an introductory call with you or counsel and we will be happy to participate in a joint conference call with counsel, where we will ensure transparency while we develop a customized plan for your specific family. We are also happy to share a copy of the reunification agreement that will apply best to your family and collective goals.

Our team uses a comprehensive, attentive, and approach to family therapy and reintegration therapy. Our social workers and psychotherapists have many years of experience among them, and our clinic is dedicated to helping families in all areas of therapy.

As a full-service family therapy clinic in Ontario, Toronto Family Therapy & Mediation Inc. employs a highly educated and experienced team of social workers, registered psychotherapists, family mediators, and support workers here to lend their expertise to families in need of elective or court-ordered reintegration therapy.

References

1. Smith, L. S. (2016). Family-based therapy for parent-child reunification. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(5).
2. Sullivan, M. J. (2019). Reunification family therapy: a treatment manual, by Jan Faust, hogrefe publishing (2017). Family Court Review, 57(1), 118-120.
3. Mental health professionals’ practice of reintegration therapy for parent-child contact disputes post-separation: A phenomenological study