This informative video program from renowned practitioner and author Eliana Gil illuminates the unique benefits of play therapy for children who have been physically or sexually abused. Sharing her warmth and clinical insight, Dr. Gil brings viewers into the therapeutic playroom, describes how play activities fit into the reparative process, and provides helpful pointers for practice. With the help of child volunteers, the video demonstrates the use of art supplies, the sandtray, puppets, the dollhouse, masks, and more. Dr. Gil also discusses ways to allay children's fears about therapy and establish a good working rapport.Running time: 40 minutes; includes 39-page manual.

Featuring in-depth case presentations from master clinicians, this volume highlights the remarkable capacity of traumatized children to guide their own healing process. The book describes what posttraumatic play looks like and how it can foster resilience and coping. Demonstrated are applications of play, art, and other expressive therapies with children who have faced such overwhelming experiences as sexual abuse or chronic neglect. The contributors discuss ways to facilitate forms of expression that promote mastery and growth, as well as how to intervene when play becomes stuck in destructive patterns. They share effective strategies for engaging hard-to-reach children and building trusting therapeutic relationships.

Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy explores the professional and legal boundaries around physical contact in therapy and offers best-practice guidelines from a variety of perspectives. Chapters address issues around appropriate and sensitive therapist-initiated touch, therapeutic approaches that use touch as an intervention in child treatment, and both positive and challenging forms of touch that are initiated by children. In these pages, professionals and students alike will find valuable information on ways to address potential ethical dilemmas, including defining boundaries, working with parents and guardians, documentation, consent forms, cultural considerations, countertransference, and much more.

Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy explores the professional and legal boundaries around physical contact in therapy and offers best-practice guidelines from a variety of perspectives. Chapters address issues around appropriate and sensitive therapist-initiated touch, therapeutic approaches that use touch as an intervention in child treatment, and both positive and challenging forms of touch that are initiated by children. In these pages, professionals and students alike will find valuable information on ways to address potential ethical dilemmas, including defining boundaries, working with parents and guardians, documentation, consent forms, cultural considerations, countertransference, and much more.

This unique resource is now in an extensively revised second edition with more than 90% new material and an expanded conceptual framework. Filled with rich case illustrations, the book explores how children's cultural identities--as well as experiences of marginalization--shape the challenges they bring to therapy and the ways they express themselves. Expert practitioners guide therapists to build competence for working across different dimensions of diversity, including race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. Purchasers get access to a companion website featuring chapters from the first edition on play therapy with major cultural groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. New to This Edition *Virtually a new book; incorporates a broader definition of culture and an increased social justice focus. *Chapters on working with children of color, LGBT children and adolescents, undocumented families, and Deaf children. *Chapter on dismantling white privilege in the play therapy office. *Chapters on school bullying and on how technology is transforming play, including tips for conducting tele-play therapy.

From leading expert Eliana Gil, this book provides child clinicians with essential knowledge and tools for evaluating and working with posttraumatic play. Such play, which is often repetitive and disturbing, may help resolve traumatic experiences--but can also become toxic. The book guides the clinician to determine what is going on with a given child and intervene sensitively and effectively. Evocative case material is interwoven with up-to-date information on the developmental impact of trauma and ways to facilitate children's natural reparative capacities. A reproducible assessment checklist to help clinicians differentiate between useful and dangerous posttraumatic play can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

This unique resource is now in an extensively revised second edition with more than 90% new material and an expanded conceptual framework. Filled with rich case illustrations, the book explores how children's cultural identities--as well as experiences of marginalization--shape the challenges they bring to therapy and the ways they express themselves. Expert practitioners guide therapists to build competence for working across different dimensions of diversity, including race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. Purchasers get access to a companion website featuring chapters from the first edition on play therapy with major cultural groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. New to This Edition *Virtually a new book; incorporates a broader definition of culture and an increased social justice focus. *Chapters on working with children of color, LGBT children and adolescents, undocumented families, and Deaf children. *Chapter on dismantling white privilege in the play therapy office. *Chapters on school bullying and on how technology is transforming play, including tips for conducting tele-play therapy.

Featuring in-depth case presentations from master clinicians, this volume highlights the remarkable capacity of traumatized children to guide their own healing process. The book describes what posttraumatic play looks like and how it can foster resilience and coping. Demonstrated are applications of play, art, and other expressive therapies with children who have faced such overwhelming experiences as sexual abuse or chronic neglect. The contributors discuss ways to facilitate forms of expression that promote mastery and growth, as well as how to intervene when play becomes stuck in destructive patterns. They share effective strategies for engaging hard-to-reach children and building trusting therapeutic relationships. This book will be invaluable to mental health professionals working with children, including child psychologists, social workers, play and art therapists, counselors, family therapists, and psychiatrists. It will also serve as a supplemental text in clinically oriented graduate-level courses.

From leading expert Eliana Gil, this book provides child clinicians with essential knowledge and tools for evaluating and working with posttraumatic play. Such play, which is often repetitive and disturbing, may help resolve traumatic experiences--but can also become toxic. The book guides the clinician to determine what is going on with a given child and intervene sensitively and effectively. Evocative case material is interwoven with up-to-date information on the developmental impact of trauma and ways to facilitate children's natural reparative capacities. A reproducible assessment checklist to help clinicians differentiate between useful and dangerous posttraumatic play can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

This classic volume, now completely revised, has helped tens of thousands of therapists integrate play therapy and family therapy techniques in clinical practice. Eliana Gil demonstrates a broad range of verbal and nonverbal strategies for engaging all family members--including those who are ambivalent toward therapy--and tailoring interventions for different types of presenting problems. Numerous case examples illustrate ways to effectively use puppets, storytelling, art making, the family play genogram, drama, and other expressive techniques with children, adolescents, and their parents. Gil offers specific guidance for becoming a more flexible, creative practitioner and shows how recent advances in neuroscience support her approach. Photographs of client artwork are included. New to This Edition *Incorporates 20 years of clinical experience and the ongoing development of Gil's influential integrative approach. *All-new case material. *Discusses how current brain research can inform creative interventions. *Heightened focus on personal metaphors, complete with detailed suggestions for exploring and processing them.

This book offers a unique perspective on clinical supervision, foregrounding experiential techniques and offering a refreshing, playful approach to professional development. Supervision Can Be Playful: Techniques for Child and Play Therapist Supervisors, Second Edition offers a holistic approach covering contextual factors, theory, practice, special topics, international voices, practical support, supervisor and supervisee self-care, and play within supervision itself. This book balances theory-driven chapters with intervention-driven chapters offering hands-on, creative methods for specialty supervision in play therapy, and speaks from the “experience of clinical supervision.” This volume is useful for training, teaching, and clinical supervision with clearly organized and logically-positioned chapters, to provide educational and practical support for clinicians and supervisors from beginning levels to the most experienced supervisor. The overall approach to this second edition demonstrates in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specialist demands of supervision for child therapists. The editors are themselves internationally renowned practitioners and they have brought together practitioners and educators recognized in the field to contribute from their expertise. The structure of the book addresses key issues in complementary sequence that builds up the reader's knowledge and understanding of the multi-faceted layers that can support truly interpersonal, creative, and culturally sensitive supervision. The chapters have been carefully considered and are inclusive, contemporary, comprehensive and practitioner-friendly.

This book offers a unique perspective on clinical supervision, foregrounding experiential techniques and offering a refreshing, playful approach to professional development. Supervision Can Be Playful: Techniques for Child and Play Therapist Supervisors, Second Edition offers a holistic approach covering contextual factors, theory, practice, special topics, international voices, practical support, supervisor and supervisee self-care, and play within supervision itself. This book balances theory-driven chapters with intervention-driven chapters offering hands-on, creative methods for specialty supervision in play therapy, and speaks from the “experience of clinical supervision.” This volume is useful for training, teaching, and clinical supervision with clearly organized and logically-positioned chapters, to provide educational and practical support for clinicians and supervisors from beginning levels to the most experienced supervisor. The overall approach to this second edition demonstrates in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specialist demands of supervision for child therapists. The editors are themselves internationally renowned practitioners and they have brought together practitioners and educators recognized in the field to contribute from their expertise. The structure of the book addresses key issues in complementary sequence that builds up the reader's knowledge and understanding of the multi-faceted layers that can support truly interpersonal, creative, and culturally sensitive supervision. The chapters have been carefully considered and are inclusive, contemporary, comprehensive and practitioner-friendly.

Presenting an integrative model for treating traumatized children, this book combines play, art, and other expressive therapies with ideas and strategies drawn from cognitive-behavioral and family therapy. Eliana Gil demonstrates how to tailor treatment to the needs of each child by using both directive and nondirective approaches. Throughout, practical clinical examples illustrate ways to target trauma-related symptomatology while also helping children process painful feelings and memories that are difficult to verbalize. The book concludes with four in-depth cases that bring to life the unique situation of each child and family, the decision-making process of the therapist, and the applications of developmentally informed, creative, and flexible interventions.

This book describes how therapists can both facilitate constructive play therapy and intervene in posttraumatic play to help children who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect achieve a positive resolution. Traditional techniques of play therapy are reviewed for their application to this population. Throughout, numerous therapeutic aids are described to enhance the child's capacity to communicate verbally or symbolically. To help clinicians translate theory into daily practice, the book presents six detailed clinical vignettes that offer step-by-step guidelines for assessment and intervention in different situations of abuse or neglect.

This book describes how therapists can both facilitate constructive play therapy and intervene in posttraumatic play to help children who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect achieve a positive resolution. Traditional techniques of play therapy are reviewed for their application to this population. Throughout, numerous therapeutic aids are described to enhance the child's capacity to communicate verbally or symbolically. To help clinicians translate theory into daily practice, the book presents six detailed clinical vignettes of trauma from among different types of abuse or neglect, including severe parental neglect, sexual abuse, neglect compounded by hospitalization, and one case features a child suffering from multiple personality disorder. Presenting step-by-step guidelines for assessment and intervention, these cases clearly illustrate treatment planning and how to tailor responses to the particular child.

Ending therapy in an appropriate and meaningful way is especially important in work with children and adolescents, yet the topic is often overlooked in clinical training. From leading child clinicians, this much-needed book examines the termination process--both for brief and longer-term encounters--and offers practical guidance illustrated with vivid case material. Tools are provided for helping children and families understand termination and work through associated feelings of loss and grief. Challenges in creating positive endings to therapy with children who have experienced trauma and adversity are given particular attention. Several reproducible forms can be downloaded and printed from the companion website in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. The companion website also features nine full-color figures.

Based on extensive clinical experience, this book provides authoritative guidance and practical tools in a challenging area for child mental health professionals. The authors explain the many possible causes of problem sexual behaviors and demonstrate assessment and treatment procedures that have been shown to work with 4- to 11-year-olds and their families. Four chapter-length case examples illustrate how to integrate elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy, play and expressive therapies, and family-based approaches. Helpful reproducible worksheets and forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.