The Healing Power of Play Working with Abused Children

by Gil, Eliana

• ISBN13: 9780898624670
• ISBN10: 0898624673
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-03-16
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This book describes how therapists can both facilitate constructive play therapy and intervene in posttraumatic play to help children who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect achieve a positive resolution. Traditional techniques of play therapy are reviewed for their application to this population. Throughout, numerous therapeutic aids are described to enhance the child's capacity to communicate verbally or symbolically. To help clinicians translate theory into daily practice, the book presents six detailed clinical vignettes of trauma from among different types of abuse or neglect, including severe parental neglect, sexual abuse, neglect compounded by hospitalization, and one case features a child suffering from multiple personality disorder. Presenting step-by-step guidelines for assessment and intervention, these cases clearly illustrate treatment planning and how to tailor responses to the particular child.

Author Biography

Eliana Gil, PhD, is a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor who specializes in the treatment of abused children and adolescents and their families as well as adult survivors. She is a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor and has written numerous books on the treatment of children. The current President of the Association for Play Therapy, Dr. Gil has served on the boards of directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse.

Table of Contents

The Abused Child: Treatment Issues

A Brief Review of the History of Child Therapy

Treatment of Abused Children

Clinical Examples

Leroy: A Child Traumatized by Severe Parental Neglect

Johnny: A Child Traumatized by Sexual Abuse

Antony: A Child with Multiple Traumas

Gaby: A Child Traumatized by a Single Episode of Sexual Abuse

Laurie: A Neglected Child Traumatized by a Hospitalization

Sharlene: A Child Traumatized by Chronic Sexual Abuse

Special Issues

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.