Playful Approaches to Serious Problems

Playful Approaches to Serious Problems
Author: Jennifer C. Freeman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1997
Genre: Child psychotherapy
ISBN: 9780393702293

The authors describe their success with narrative therapy, a lighter, playful approach to the serious problems encountered in child and family therapy. They provide case vignettes in the first two sections which show how children who might have been labeled belligerent, hyperactive, anxious, or out of touch with reality are found to be capable of taming their tempers, controlling frustration, and using their imaginations to the fullest. They address the helpful role of family members, as well. The third section of the text offers five extended case stories. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Narrative Means To Therapeutic Ends

Narrative Means To Therapeutic Ends
Author: Michael White
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1990-05
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780393700985

Starting from the assumption that people experience emotional problems when the stories of their lives, as they or others have invented them, do not represent the truth, this volume outlines an approach to psychotherapy which encourages patients to take power over their problems.

Treating Abused Adolescents

Treating Abused Adolescents
Author: Eliana Gil
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1996-06-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781572301153

With compassion and wisdom born of vast clinical experience, Eliana Gil's new book offers practical, step-by-step guidance for mental health professionals, demonstrating how they can communicate and work more effectively with adolescents who have suffered from abuse. Her book describes the impact of abuse on development, shows how "acting out" can be understood as a bid for attention and help, and details specific ways a therapist can overcome obstacles in treatment.

My Book about Play Therapy

My Book about Play Therapy
Author: Sandra L. Wilson
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2018-02-21
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781794240476

Play therapy is different from "just" playing. This book is intended for young children, ages 3 to 11 for whom therapy is being considered. Because children are not able to engage fully in abstract reasoning or thinking until approximately age 11, play is a developmentally respectful way to do therapy with a child. There are many established theoretical approaches to play therapy. Each approach takes into consideration the age and developmental stage of the child. This book describes a child-centered play therapy experience. Child Centered Play Therapy is a well-established therapy with a long history of research.

Narrative Therapy in Wonderland: Connecting with Children's Imaginative Know-How

Narrative Therapy in Wonderland: Connecting with Children's Imaginative Know-How
Author: David Epston
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2016-11-08
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0393712117

The remarkable power of connecting with children’s voices and imagination in narrative therapy. Therapists may marvel at children’s imaginative triumphs, but how often do they recognize such talents as vital to the therapy hour? Should therapists reserve a space for make-believe only when nothing is at stake, or might it be precisely those moments when something truly matters that imagination is most urgently needed? This book offers an alternative to therapeutic perspectives that treat children as vulnerable and helpless. It invites readers to consider how the imaginative gifts and knowledge of children, when supported by the therapist and family, can bring about dramatic change. The book begins with an account of the foundations of narrative theory. It explains how such elements as language, characterization, and suspense contribute to the coherence of a story and bring young people into focus. Each subsequent chapter provides specific suggestions for the practice of narrative therapy. Examples of the difficulties children face are offered, along with narrative interventions and tips for overcoming common barriers that can arise along the way. Readers will learn a variety of ready-to-implement strategies, including how to personify problems, compose letters to affirm children’s identities, summon fairies to lend a helping hand, and many more. Sample dialogues between the authors, children, and their parents bring the application of each practice to life, illuminating how even the most stubborn problem can be outwitted, sometimes by mischievous means. With robust professional insight, Narrative Therapy in Wonderland will aid any practitioner in calling on children’s imaginative know-how. How often can a young person be spotted diving headlong into a world of fantasy? This book explores the extraordinary fact that these young people may, upon arrival in Wonderland, be far better equipped to take on even dire challenges than when they remain “up above.”

Playful Parenting

Playful Parenting
Author: Lawrence J. Cohen
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2008-11-19
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 0307489604

Parents have heard that play is a child's work—but play is not for kids only. As psychologist Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D., demonstrates in this delightful new book, play can be the basis for an innovative and rewarding approach to parenting. From eliciting a giggle during baby's first game of peek-a-boo to cracking jokes with a teenager while hanging out at the mall, Playful Parenting is a complete guide to using play to raise strong, confident children. Have you ever stepped back to watch what really goes on when your children play? As Dr. Cohen points out, play is children's complex and fluid way of exploring the world, communicating hard-to-express feelings, getting close to those they care about, working through stressful situations, and simply blowing off steam. That's why "playful parenting" is so important and so successful in building strong, close bonds between parents and children. Through play we join our kids in their world. We help them express and understand deep emotions, foster connection, aid the process of emotional healing--and have a great time ourselves while we're at it. Anyone can be a playful parent--all it takes is a sense of adventure and a willingness to let down your guard and try something new. After identifying why it can be hard for adults to play, Dr. Cohen discusses how to get down on the floor and join children on their own terms. He covers games, activities, and playful interactions that parents can enjoy with children of all ages, whether it's gazing deep into a baby's eyes, playing chase with a toddler, fantasy play with a grade schooler, or reducing a totally cool teenager to helpless laughter. Playful Parenting also includes illuminating chapters on how to use play to build a child's confidence and self-esteem, how to play through sibling rivalry, and how play can become a part of loving discipline. Written with love and humor, brimming with good advice and revealing anecdotes, and grounded in the latest research, Playful Parenting will make you laugh even as it makes you wise in the ways of being a happy, effective, enthusiastic parent.

Deconstructing Psychotherapy

Deconstructing Psychotherapy
Author: Ian Parker
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1999-05-17
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780761957133

`I enjoyed this book, and think that it should find a grateful and attentive readership in the practical field as well as being a central text in academic settings. It will also be well received by those, like myself, for whom the interest is more in deconstructing than psychotherapy' -Dialogues This book takes the discursive and postmodern turn in psychotherapy a significant step forward and will be of interest to all those working in mental health who are concerned with challenges to oppression and processes of emancipation. It achieves this by: reflecting on the role of psychotherapy in contemporary culture; developing critiques of language in psychotherapy that unravel its claims to personal truth

Narrative Therapies with Children and Adolescents

Narrative Therapies with Children and Adolescents
Author: Craig Smith
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2000-03-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781572305762

Showcasing approaches as creative and playful as young clients themselves, the book presents therapy as a dialogue of discovery. Through transcripts and compelling case examples, contributors illuminate how drama, art, play, and humor can be used effectively to engage with children of different ages, and to honor their idiosyncratic language, knowledge, and perspective.

Maps of Narrative Practice

Maps of Narrative Practice
Author: Michael White
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2024-01-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0393712710

Michael White, one of the founders of narrative therapy, is back with his first major publication since the seminal Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, which Norton published in 1990. Maps of Narrative Practice provides brand new practical and accessible accounts of the major areas of narrative practice that White has developed and taught over the years, so that readers may feel confident when utilizing this approach in their practices. The book covers each of the five main areas of narrative practice-re-authoring conversations, remembering conversations, scaffolding conversations, definitional ceremony, externalizing conversations, and rite of passage maps-to provide readers with an explanation of the practical implications, for therapeutic growth, of these conversations. The book is filled with transcripts and commentary, skills training exercises for the reader, and charts that outline the conversations in diagrammatic form. Readers both well-versed in narrative therapy as well as those new to its concepts, will find this fresh statement of purpose and practice essential to their clinical work.

Healthy Attachments and Neuro-dramatic-play

Healthy Attachments and Neuro-dramatic-play
Author: Sue Jennings
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2011
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1849050147

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 is of crucial importance for the infant to develop a healthy brain, strong attachments and future resilience.