The Importance of Therapy Skill Usage in the Home: Skill Transfer

"I bring my child to therapy, why do I have to do this at home too?”. Great question. In therapy your child will learn different skills, such as coping, conflict, or communication skills. Therapy introduces the skill, and they are often practiced several times within a session. An hour, or two a month does not create mastery of a skill. For a child to truly learn the skill and be able to use it successfully, they need to practice it. 

Think of the skill as a seed. We can give you the pot, the dirt, and the seed. Without regularly watering it, and access to sunshine the little seed will struggle to grow. If it is only watered a couple times a month, the seed will not have the resources needed to succeed. Therapeutic skills are just like the little seed; If you want the seed to grow you need to water it between therapy appointments and check in on how it’s doing. You might need to adjust things such as the placement, or the amount of water. 

Therapy skills need to be practiced several times to see if it's the right tool for the job. They should be practiced in calm moments, working up to using them when your child needs them most. Practicing skills outside of therapy also allows us to assess if it’s the right fit for the child and their home. Not every coping skill is for every person, and skills should be specified to the person. 

Practicing the skills outside of sessions will increase your child's knowledge on how and when to apply the skill in real life scenarios and will give you the ability to practice helping them use it. New things can be hard, and doing it alone is harder. We’d love to help support your family on their therapeutic journey. Talk to your therapist today about skill transfer or reach out if you are interested in starting services with Fun First Therapy.

I hope you enjoyed this post!

-Sophie Butcher MSW, LMSW