Play Therapy with Abused Children

Ways of starting play therapy with abused children are described and the author explains how the child can use the process for healing. Models of intervention are described which meet the particular needs of the child and the work setting of the therapist; for example, short and medium term interventions, individual/group and sibling work. There are case histories of children who have experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse which show how play therapy was used to help them come to terms with the past and prepare for the future.

This book explores the uses of play therapy with abused children as a way of helping them to heal their distress and make sense of their experiences through expanding their own creativity in play. It introduces the concept that play is a developmental activity through which children explore their identity in relation to others. Children use multiple media to express themselves in play, including their own bodies, symbolic objects, and a variety of role-play. The author shows that play is a creative process and that certain areas of the child's experience can only be communicated through play.

Ways of starting play therapy with abused children are described and the author explains how the child can use the process for healing. Models of intervention are described which meet the particular needs of the child and the work setting of the therapist; for example, short and medium term interventions, individual/group and sibling work. There are case histories of children who have experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse which show how play therapy was used to help them come to terms with the past and prepare for the future.

Ann Cattanach MSc, CSTD, RDTh, is Course Director, Play Therapy at Roehampton Institute and is co-founder of The Play Therapy Trust. She helped to develop the Dramatherapy course at the Akademie de Kopese Hof, Nijmegen, Netherlands and supervises the Play Therapy course in Athens run by the Centre for Dramatherapy, Theatre and Therapy. She works as a therapist for Harrow NHS Community Trust and acts as a Child Care Consultant/Therapist for several Social Service departments in London. She is the author of several books, including Play Therapy with Abused Children published in 1992 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.