Developing the basic principles of her model of playtherapy, Sue Jennings has written a stimulating book that will provide inspiration for those new to the discipline, whilst providing a fresh and exciting approach for established practitioners. In Introduction to Developmental Playtherapy, Jennings argues that creative play is essential for children's health. Drawing on examples from her own professional experience, she discusses how play can help resolve issues by allowing possible solutions to be explored safely, thus encouraging flexibility of response. She explores the cultural background and theory of using play as a therapeutic tool with children and how play can communicate to the therapist what the child needs to tell. Innovative and accessible, her book breaks fertile new ground for playtherapy.

Breaking new ground in the areas of attachment and child development, Sue Jennings introduces the concept of 'Neuro-Dramatic-Play' exploring the sensory experiences that take place between mother and child during pregnancy and the first few months after birth. She explains how this interaction, that is essentially 'dramatic' in nature, is of crucial importance for the infant to develop a healthy brain, strong attachments and future resilience. Based on sound experience and observation, this book consolidates current theories of neuroscience, attachment and therapeutic intervention and challenges commonly held psychoanalytic ideas of child development. By expanding on the often narrow view of what is understood by attachment, this book makes a strong case for early years inclusion of play and arts therapies. Neuro-Dramatic-Play is also discussed in relation to fostering and adoption, teenagers and young adults, and children with developmental or cognitive disabilities. This accessible text will interest all therapists and practitioners who work with children and teenagers, including child psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, paediatric and perinatal nurses, paediatricians, child psychiatrists and play and arts therapists, and post-graduate students.

In this text, Mooli Lahad argues that the most effective method of supervision uses both right and left hemispheres of the brain, the intuitive and logical. He proposes that metaphors, images and stories can be used to enrich theoretical knowledge and improve our understanding of the processes of therapy and support.;Lahad introduces techniques which can be employed during a supervision to release information from the creative hemisphere of the brain. These include storytelling, role-playing, guided fantasy, imaginary dialogues, letter-writing, drawing and the use of colours and shapes.;Case examples show how the techniques were used, and how they provided insight into problematic relationships with clients. Drawing from his experiences of working in the aftermath of tragedy in Israel, Northern Ireland and the former Yugoslavia, Lahad examines how to supervise a crisis intervention team, also focusing on self-supervision.

The "BASIC Ph" model of coping and resiliency, developed by Prof. Mooli Lahad and Dr. Ofra Ayalon, was the first to describe coping as an on-going effort to manage life challenges. This is the first book to be published on this world-renowned approach, widely used as an effective resiliency assessment, intervention, and recovery model. Underpinning the model is the suggestion that every person has internal powers, or coping resources, which can be mobilized in stressful situations; the effort to survive coming from a healthy rather than a pathological instinct. The categorization of these coping resources gives the model its name: Belief, Affect, Social, Imagination, Cognition, Physical. This edited volume outlines the theory behind the "BASIC Ph" approach, presents practice-based and research-based interventions and explains their application during and in the wake of both natural and man-made disasters. With wide-ranging chapters from authoritative contributors, the book shows how the "BASIC Ph" model can be successfully applied in family, community, education, health, and business settings. This will be an invaluable text for professionals, academics, and students with an interest in trauma and coping with crisis and disaster.

Highlighting the importance of a 'safe place' as the foundation of the healing process for those affected by child sexual abuse, this practical book details the factors that contribute to a secure therapeutic climate where recovery can take place. The Children and Families Project draws on the perspectives of those who have been abused to show how a person-centred approach to establishing a sense of safety can enable children and their relatives to regain trust and self-esteem. The book demonstrates how therapeutic services can be improved through feedback from service users and how creative activities such as storytelling, painting and drama can encourage the expression of experiences. The need for preventative work is also addressed. Of particular relevance to professionals is the exploration of some of the difficulties that may be encountered in this field of work, such as the tension that can arise between therapeutic work and the child protection system. This is an invaluable resource for anyone working with abused children and adults.

Supervisors who wish to employ a more imaginative approach to their work will find concepts such as 'aesthetic distancing' and techniques derived from dramatherapy - the use of myths and stories, dramatic play and roles - particularly useful. Supervision and Dramatherapy explores the ways in which dramatherapy techniques and concepts can be applied to supervision, and looks at how supervisions are conducted within the field of dramatherapy. The contributors, leading dramatherapists from Britain, Continental Europe, the United States and Israel, have written on the historical background of supervion in dramatherapy, the process of dramatherapy supervision, the training of supervisor-dramatherapists, taking a dramatherapy approach to business supervisions, the supervision of crisis intervention teams and dramatherapy research. They offer insights into the relationships between supervisor, supervisee and client, and the dramatic roles that unfold during the supervision process. Drawing on their own experiences in clinical and non-clinical settings, and richly illustrating their accounts with examples from practice, they offer exciting and creative ways of effectively supervising dramatherapists and non-dramatherapists alike.

Nature Therapy is an innovative approach for working with children who have experienced stress or trauma. For the first time in the English language, this book presents the theory behind the approach along with detailed guidelines for introducing it to the classroom and other group settings The flexible 12-session programme pairs nature-based activities with storytelling and other expressive arts approaches. It is designed to strengthen coping and resilience in children who have been through common causes of stress such as the divorce of parents, moving home, the illness of a loved one or bullying. It can also be used in the aftermath of large-scale crises such as war, terrorism and natural disasters to prevent and treat post-traumatic stress disorder. An evocative colour storybook, 'The Guardians of the Forest', is also included for use within the programme. The original, evidence-based approach described in this book will be of interest to all those working therapeutically or creatively with children who have experienced stress or trauma, including teachers, arts therapists, psychologists and counsellors.