Group Play Therapy


Book Description

Group Play Therapy presents an updated look at an effective yet underutilized therapeutic intervention. More than just an approach to treating children, group play therapy is a life-span approach, undergirded by solid theory and, in this volume, taking wings through exciting techniques. Drawing on their experiences as clinicians and educators, the authors weave theory and technique together to create a valuable resource for both mental health practitioners and advanced students. Therapists and ultimately their clients will benefit from enhancing their understanding of group play therapy.




School-Based Play Therapy


Book Description

A thorough revision of the essential guide to using play therapy in schools Fully updated and revised, School-Based Play Therapy, Second Edition presents an A-to-Z guide for using play therapy in preschool and elementary school settings. Coedited by noted experts in the field, Athena Drewes and Charles Schaefer, the Second Edition offers school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and teachers the latest techniques in developing creative approaches to utilize the therapeutic powers of play in schools. The Second Edition includes coverage on how to implement a play therapy program in school settings; play-based prevention programs; individual play therapy approaches as well as group play; and play therapywith special populations, such as selectively mute, homeless, and autistic children. In addition, nine new chapters have been added with new material covering: Cognitive-behavioral play therapy Trauma-focused group work Training teachers to use play therapy Filled with illustrative case studies and ready-to-use practical techniques and suggestions, School-Based Play Therapy, Second Edition is an essential resource for all mental health professionals working in schools.




Group Filial Therapy


Book Description

In Group Filial Therapy (GFT), therapists train parents to conduct play sessions with their own children to help meet children's therapeutic needs, and to transfer appropriate skills to family life. Based on parents' application of Child-Centred Play Therapy, taught and supervised by filial therapists, this evidence-based method is highly effective for working with families from diverse backgrounds and locations. This book provides an accessible guide to the theory and practice of GFT, and for the first time offers step-by-step guidelines for implementing the GFT program developed by Dr Guerney, the co-creator of Filial Therapy. Important practical considerations are addressed by Dr Guerney and Dr Ryan, such as how to determine the composition of groups and the duration of programs, and how to conduct Filial Therapy intakes. The facilitative attitudes and skills needed to be an effective Filial Therapy group leader are also described, and comprehensive instructions for implementing Dr Guerney's 20-week model of GFT are provided. The book closes with examples of how the program may be adapted to meet the needs of special groups. Replete with examples and dialogues bringing to life the group process, this definitive guide will enable therapists already familiar with the method, as well as those wishing to learn it, to maximise the fulfilment of therapeutic goals for participating families. Practitioners in mental health, social services and counselling, as well as parenting experts, play and filial therapists and therapists in training will find that this book expands and enriches the services they can offer their clients.




Implementing Play Therapy with Groups


Book Description

Implementing Play Therapy with Groups is a new and innovative edited book bringing together experts from across the field of play therapy to explore how to facilitate group play therapy across challenging settings, diagnoses, and practice environments. Applying theoretical and empirical information to address treatment challenges, each chapter focuses on a specific treatment issue and explores ways the reader can implement group work within their play therapy work. Chapters also provide contemporary evidence-based clinical information in providing group therapy with specific populations such as working with children who have been exposed to violence, trauma, adoption, foster care, those who are chronically medically fragile, and more. This book will bring awareness to, and provide easily implemented play therapy knowledge and interventions for, child and family therapists who work in a range of settings including schools, hospitals, residential treatment centers, and community mental health settings.




The Handbook of Group Play Therapy


Book Description

Here is a comprehensive guide to of the the most effective anddynamic childhood intervention available to counselors, therapists,teachers, psychologists, and anyone who works with kids. Thishands-on resource applies play therapy theory to a wide variety ofgroup settings and gives therapists insight into treating specialpopulations including sibling groups, children who have beenabused, and children who have experienced the loss of a loved one.Enter a child's world of communication with twenty-five of thecountry's leading play therapy experts as they guide you through amyriad of group play therapy approaches, issues, and techniques.The Handbook of Group Play Therapy gives therapists the tools theyneed to help children as they experience the exhilaration, fear,joy, and frustration in discovering the world around them as theylearn about themselves and others. "The authors have pinpointed a dynamic and developing area oftherapeutic play. . . . a very valuable resource in working withchildren."-Robert C. Berg, professor and assistant chair,Department of Counseling, Development, and Higher Education,University of North Texas




Group Psychotherapy with Children


Book Description

A practical guide to play therapy with children. This book covers aspects of treatment including the selection of appropriate patients, choice of toys, setting limits, and working with parents. The capabilities of group therapy to foster social interaction and psychological development are shown.




The Therapeutic Play Group


Book Description

Originally published in 1971, this title is a comprehensive and detailed presentation of the principles and practices of an activity-type, experimental form of group therapy which had proved successful with emotionally disturbed, pre-pubertal children at the time. Mortimer Schiffer describes the clinical procedures and rehabilitative programs that were developed, over a period of many years, through experience of more than a hundred therapeutic play groups. One play group, conducted in a public elementary school in an underprivileged community of a large city, is examined from its inception to its termination after more than three years of meetings. Thus the reader is able to study the psycho-dynamics of a group, and to appreciate the special meaning of the school environment when it is used as a setting for therapeutic group practice. As the author says, "The school is not only advantageously situated with respect to the identification of developmental problems in young children, but it also has great potential for carrying out preventive and rehabilitative programs. No other community resource – including the mental health agencies – can match the potential of school-based programs for countering mal-experience in the lives of children." This book will be of interest to psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists who work with emotionally disturbed children, and also to teachers in special education and to other school personnel involved with children who have adjustment problems.




Play Therapy for Preschool Children


Book Description

Play Therapy for Preschool Children is a comprehensive sourcebook of play interventions for preventing and resolving the most common disorders of children aged 3-5 years old.




Foundations of Play Therapy


Book Description

The landmark guide to play therapy—completely updated and revised Edited by Charles E. Schaefer—the "father of play therapy"—Foundations of Play Therapy, Second Edition is a complete, state-of-the-art guide to the many diverse approaches to, and methods used in, play therapy practice with children and adolescents. Featuring an expert panel of contributors, this comprehensive reference provides up-to-date and insightful coverage of all of the major theoretical models of play therapy and offers practical examples for the application of each model, including: Narrative play therapy Solution-focused play therapy Experiential play therapy Release play therapy Integrative play therapy Psychoanalytic approaches to play therapy Child-centered play therapy Gestalt play therapy Family play therapy Cognitive behavioral play therapy Prescriptive play therapy Written for therapists looking for guidance on how to incorporate play therapy into their practice, as well as students or those in need of a refresher on the latest methods and techniques, Foundations of Play Therapy, Second Edition is a standard-setting resource presenting pragmatic and useful information for therapists at all levels of training.




Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions


Book Description

Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions: The Ecosystemic Model and Workbook contains key information on one of the most rapidly developing and growing areas of therapy. The book is designed to help play therapists develop specific treatment goals and develop focused treatment plans, as now required by many regulating agencies and third party payers. The text includes descriptions of 25 actual play therapy activities. Any preparation the therapist may need to complete before the session is identified as is the outcome the therapist may expect. Each activity description ends with a suggestion as to how the therapists might follow up on the content and experience in future sessions. The activity descriptions are very practical and are geared to the child clients specific developmental level. Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions presents guidelines for interviewing clients and their parents as well as pretreatment assessment. The book provides guidance on data gathering for the intake process and case conceptualization. Case examples and completed sections of the workbook, quotes, and lists increase the text's comprehension. The entire workbook is provided in text format and on disk. It provides the therapist with an easy-to-use format for recording critical case information, specific treatment goals, and the overall treatment plan. Presents a comprehensive theory of play therapy and a comprehensive model of play therapy intervention Clearly relates the theoretical model to the interventions Provides examples of the application of both the theory and the intervention model to specific cases Provides a structure by which the reader can apply the theory and intervention model to his or her own cases Describes actual play therapy activities and identifies how therapists can prepare for the session, implement the activity, and the outcome they may expect Describes play activities clustered according to the developmental level of the children to which they are best suited Workbook format provides the reader with a method for obtaining comprehensive intake and assessment data, organizing that data into a case formulation and treatment goals, and then developing a comprehensive treatment plan Provides a blank copy of the workbook, as well as the workbook on disk, for use in ones own practice