Counseling Children of Incarcerated Parents: A Content Analysis

Children of incarcerated parents are often forgotten as victims of crime. The ambiguous loss of a parent to incarceration can be a difficult process, made more so by general reluctance to share the fact of an incarceration with peers or adults outside of the family. Studies show the effects of parental incarceration to be overwhelmingly negative, both in school and afterwards. Children may develop and exhibit external or internal behavioral issues. My study is a content analysis of books used by counselors and teachers of children of the incarcerated. Through such analysis, the most frequently used mechanisms and strategies were discovered. By also regarding the use of play therapy in counseling children, this study could lead to the creation of new methods to be tested for use with children of incarcerated parents. Children are most often taught about the emotions they may be experiencing regarding the trauma of a parent’s incarceration and the importance of building strong relationships within the family and with others. This study shows the impact that the mechanisms of counseling have on children of incarcerated parent’s future development.

Shelby Legel received her bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Justice from American University in 2011 with University Honors. "Counseling Children of Incarcerated Parents" was her senior thesis work.