Between-Session Practice in Child Therapy: A Guide for Parents and Therapists

Therapy homework should have a purpose the child and caregiver understand, an appropriate level of support and a way to report difficulty. Ask the therapist to show an example before leaving. Therapy homework examples might involve rehearsing an agreed help request or recording one observation, depending on the individualized plan.

Agree what therapy homework will look like outside the session

At the next therapy session, discuss what actually happened, including tasks that were not attempted. Do not manufacture a completed worksheet to please the therapist or increase the task without agreement. Lack of practice is information about fit, understanding, access or other barriers, not a complete explanation of motivation.

Start with what actually happens

When addressing between-session practice in child therapy, choose two recent examples and one occasion when the difficulty was smaller. While considering “Choose one target from the session,” note what happened immediately beforehand, what the child did or communicated, how adults responded, and what allowed recovery or re-entry; the contrast can help distinguish a missing skill from overload, unclear expectations, avoidance, or an environmental barrier.

Begin with “Choose one target from the session.” Treat it as a low-risk first action, not proof that one explanation is correct. Decide in advance what would count as useful evidence for keeping, reducing, or changing this support for between-session practice in child therapy.

A practical sequence

1. Choose one target from the session

Agree a practice goal linked to the individualized therapy plan, with a purpose understood by the child and caregiver.

2. Define the smallest observable practice

Specify a manageable opportunity and what, if anything, should be recorded; avoid turning daily life into continuous assessment.

3. Agree on caregiver and child roles

Clarify what the child will try, what support the caregiver offers and which questions should return to the therapist.

4. Plan barriers and alternatives

Anticipate practical barriers and agree how to pause or adapt within the plan rather than improvising a harder task.

5. Record minimal useful information

Keep notes relevant and secure, including uncertainty and barriers instead of manufacturing a record of success.

6. Review with curiosity

Review attempts and non-attempts without blame; use them to refine the fit of the plan with the therapist.

What this can sound like

• “What would make this useful enough to try once?”
• “We are reviewing what the task taught us, not grading completion.”
• “Which response format gives the clearest access to the skill?”

After introducing “Define the smallest observable practice” for between-session practice in child therapy, use the shortest sentence that directs attention to the next useful action; questions requiring a detailed explanation should wait until the child has enough regulation and language access to answer.

What can make the plan backfire

Before relying on “Choose one target from the session,” consider this caution: non-completion is information, not automatic resistance; avoid assigning several changes at once or requiring families to disclose more than the agreed task needs.

When using “Choose one target from the session” to address between-session practice in child therapy, avoid turning the child’s response into a test of character, motivation, gratitude, or maturity; if the proposed route becomes the main conflict, change the format or reduce the step before abandoning the underlying safety or participation goal.

How to review progress

While reviewing between-session practice in child therapy, track whether the agreed action occurred in the intended setting, how much support it required, what barrier became clearer, and whether the skill transferred. A brief record of “Choose one target from the session” can use three levels—independent, prompted, or not yet accessible—plus one sentence about the setting and the support available.

After practising “Review with curiosity,” review the pattern on an agreed date rather than redesigning the plan after each hard moment; keep what improved access, revise what did not, and increase difficulty only after the current step is reasonably reliable.

Developmental and accessibility adjustments

Adapt the route used for between-session practice in child therapy to language, disability, sensory processing, attention, culture, privacy, and communication style. When practising “Define the smallest observable practice,” pictures, modeling, movement, assistive communication, a typed response, or extra processing time may remove a format barrier without lowering the core goal.

When addressing between-session practice in child therapy, do not require eye contact, private disclosure, extensive writing, or a particular emotional display as proof of learning. Evaluate “Choose one target from the session” by whether it improves safety, participation, communication, or recovery in the setting where this difficulty occurs.

When additional support is appropriate

Seek qualified support when difficulty remains persistent, worsening, unsafe, or significantly interferes with school, sleep, health, relationships, or everyday functioning despite trying “Choose one target from the session” and “Define the smallest observable practice”; sudden or severe changes also warrant appropriate medical or mental-health assessment.

Related SafeSEL guide

To review broader signs of change with caregivers, see Signs Child Therapy Is Making Progress.

Related guide: A Practical Framework for Child Therapy Assessment

Related guide: When a Child Knows What to Do but Cannot Start the Task