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

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.

Narrative Play Therapy is a highly effective play-based psychological intervention that enables therapists to help children communicate difficult experiences and complex emotions through co-constructed stories. This is the definitive guide to the approach, offering both a coherent theoretical outline and a clear explanation of its practical applications. Beginning with detailed accounts of the theory and history that has shaped the approach, this book provides necessary background knowledge for the successful application of Narrative Play Therapy. It looks at different client circumstances, including children experiencing adoption, parental separation or abuse, and demonstrates how the approach can be used in practice to support each client group therapeutically. The professional expertise of leading practitioners in the field is brought together to present a comprehensive framework for Narrative Play Therapy drawn from theory, understanding and practice. This is an essential resource for students of play therapy, play therapy practitioners, and all other professionals working with children therapeutically.

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.

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.”

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.

`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