Filial therapy is an alternative method for treating emotionally disturbed children in which the parent is used as an ally in the therapeutic process. Filial therapy teaches the parent a new way of interacting with their child, thus improving the parent-child relationship. Additionally, filial therapy provides focused attention to the child from a person who holds emotional significance to the child, thus encouraging anxieties learned from the parental influence to be unlearned, and provides opportunities for miscommunications to be clarified to the child by the parent. This approach is based on the therapeutic nature of play and the parent's ability to learn to assume the therapeutic role required of them for a short period of time under special conditions. This digest reviews the process of filial therapy, toys and materials, filial therapy research and results, and current and future trends. (Contains 12 references.) (GCP)