Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship

by Garry L. Landreth

Play Therapy, Second Edition, is a thorough update to the 1991 first edition best-selling book, the most widely used text for play therapy courses. It refreshes the history and development in play therapy including results of research done in the past 10 years. A new chapter is included on current issues and special populations relevant to the development of play therapy. The author presents very readable descriptions of play and the history of play therapy; child and therapist characteristics; play room set-up and materials; working with parents; and a number of helpful and interesting case descriptions.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Nonfiction, Grad School, Social Work, School, Childrens

432 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a person-centred book on child therapy and was recommended this one, and it's fantastic!

Landreth has taken Carl R. Rogers' client-centred therapeutic approach and adapted it for the largely non-verbal medium of play therapy. He clearly sets out his underpinning philosophy/theory in the opening chapters, and then clearly guides through the process of therapy with clearly described examples, suggested responses to client behaviours, and fully explained justified dos-and-don'ts. It helps that his language is direct, immediate and engaging. Reading the book is more like listening to a well-lived teacher deliver a lesson. More than once when I started to say to myself, "Yes, but what if...", and Landreth's next sentence answered my question as if in response - excellent writing!

The final chapters describe and summarise the research evidence for the effectiveness and efficacy of the approach, which has been rigorously and scientifically tried and tested. As I embark upon my children and young people practice, Landreth's book will be on of my mainstays.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The single best book on child-centered play therapy practice. Period.

[Lynnae · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough, practical, helpful guide for child-centered play therapy that is already informing how I work with kiddos. 5 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩

[Justin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope to someday have even a fraction of the knowledge and expertise of Dr. Landreth. I've learned so much from this book and yet have so much left to learn.

[Maricarmen]

Hell ya we love children expressing themselves and giving children agency over their problems

[Gabriel Desjardins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for all child psychologists ! It is refreshing to see an evidence-based treatment that is flexible and child-centered rather than symptoms-focused and written like a protocol. This treatment modality clearly respects the person of the child. This method seems freeing and touching, as well as respectful of the child as a whole human being. I just wonder why there is not much that was said about joining, since authenticity is so important. I also wonder if the therapist can be more than a facilitative relationship; if the therapist can be a whole relationship by being with the child by joining the play with spontaneity. Great book though, made me reflect a lot upon the way I conduct child therapy, and was helpful to understand we can be therapeutic simply by being with the child

[Duygu Berber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitabın Türkçe çevirisini okudum çok ama çok kötü. Fakat içerik olarak Harika; çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi hakkında oldukça detaylı bilgi veriyor. 5 yıldızı bu sebeple hakediyor.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garry is the GOAT of play therapy

[Nicholas Poveda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly details Child Centered Play Therapy. A bit repetitive but essential reading for CCPTs.

[Karen Gonzalez-Videla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. I did not know anything about child-centered play therapy before starting to read this book, which was required reading for one of my master's counseling classes. The book provides a nice introduction to this style of play therapy and I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in that area of counseling. However, I would have liked for the book to also appreciate and discuss other forms of play therapy. Even though child-centered appears to be the driving type of play therapy in the field, there are definitely other kinds that this book simply glosses over and, at times, dismisses.

[Michael Sasson · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK. So really I want to give two ratings -- a one-star rating and a five-star rating.

First, the five star: I love that the author clearly loves and admires and respects children and is observant of both children and also sometimes-awkward therapists-in-training who spend time around children-clients. I think many kids in many situations will benefit from professionals who are trained in the methods described.

Now, the one-star: Two things :
a) A general and almost constant low-level disdain for parents (who explicitly need to be managed and not let on that the child therapist is sure that their 45 minutes each week with the kid is more valuable than the parents 24/7 (I mean, if the parents FEEL the disdain, who will bring the kid to the therapist -- this is pretty much stated outright. This is all said even though the book reports on research that describes kids do better with parents who have minimal training than with professional therapists.
b) The book offers no direction for what to do to keep children safe who are in environments where ongoing harm is being done. This is a tricky one because just living exposes people to potential trauma so I'm not talking about what to do with the kid who lives in a house with somewhat self-absorbed caregivers. But there are a bunch of situations where providing caregivers with information could make a lot of difference in protecting the kid from ongoing abuse and that isn't even taken up.

[Peaches · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone who desires to work with kids or become a parent. No, I don't think you should seek out to be a child's unsolicited therapist (especially when not trained!), but Landreth provides a compelling rationale for play being a child's natural form of communication. He includes examples of situations and writes in a way that is not off-puttingly textbook.
One of the most useful parts for readers who are not therapists, but seek to understand children more, are the areas that focus on limit setting, which I think all people could use even in adult relationships. Landreth also has useful videos on this practice if needed.
I couldn't give it 5 stars because of the punctuation issues and the repetition. He does repeat himself a lot, and repetition is not always the best way to emphasize something, especially since he also plays with italics and bolding font.
This is one book for a class that I will keep and pull out again when I want to be a parent!

[Jordan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an informative, straightforward book about child-centered play therapy. I found it to be an excellent introduction to the world of play therapy. I admit, I have wondered about how effective play therapy could actually be, but this book changed my mind. I have also been hugely influenced by Carl Rogers' person-centered approach, and this book helped me to understand what that looks like when working with young children.

I have had a few people tell me that learning to communicate as a play therapist is like learning a new language, and I can see what they mean now. Whereas communicating in a person-centered way with adults may come more naturally, facilitating an interaction in which the child is the leader is, unfortunately, not how how we typically interact with children. If only there were a way to get all parents to read this book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the primary text for my play therapy elective class. It is a good overview of child-centered play therapy as practiced by professionals at the University of North Texas and other institutions that support that modality. It is written with a strong practical focus with lots of specific tips and instructions ranging from toy selection, setup of the playroom, consulting with parents, and how to be in the room with a child. I do not believe this would be a particularly interesting text to someone not in a clinical training program, but it was effective as a class textbook.

[Milan Kovačević · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent book for play therapists who want to be capable to help children to overcome some major problems in their lives, but not using some pressure, but letting children to express themselves by using their self awareness and self estimation in order to solve this problems. But actually children are not conscious that the play is used just for them to release ther feelings and to overcome their frights and so on.

[Makenzey Murr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for work/CEUs for my RPT. Garry’s knowledge is inspiring, as well as, applicable and helpful. I enjoyed learning so much about CCPT. I just thought the book was a bit too repetitive and could’ve been edited down to make room for even more information (or just been shorter). I’m certain I’ll continue to come back to this constantly to reference while I’m at work.

[Jacquelyn Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insight into the language of children.

A beautifully conceited book describing the need for children to be met with understanding; realizing that they verbalize best through play.

[Nicole C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to play therapy for clinicians. With real examples and dialogues, this book gives insight into how one actually conducts play therapy. The book is organized neatly into different sections and is very readable.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for a play therapy class. It's filled with knowledge, though it could probably have been written in 50 pages. The writing style may be a little too young-oriented. But this is a must-read for all therapists.

[amanda carlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 4.5 stars. This was an incredible resource for therapeutic work with children and provides many perspectives that need to be considered when working with kids and families. I’m not sure I’ll ever get certified in play therapy but I found this book very valuable for my practice

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Really wish play therapy was included in my general CMHC curriculum because this was so insightful! I used to think I never wanted to work with kids but I’ve loved sessions with them so far in my internship. Reading this book has added to that love and added to my confidence.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Toys are used like words by children, and play is their language." Garry Landreth knows play. This book made so much sense. Even though I don't intend to practice with children, anyone who interacts with kids in any way would benefit from learning about the ins and outs of play therapy.

[Aislinn Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough introduction into child-centered play therapy, including the theory and how to practice it.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent foundational text. Wish I'd read this earlier!

[LaRee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional guidance for relating with children.

[Dahlia Bagnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much practical information. A must read for every play therapist.

[Caroline Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good description of play therapy. Describes what to have in the counseling play room, how to interact with kids and their parents. I learned a lot.

[Theodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student play therapist, I have found this book to be so very eye-opening, detailed, considerate and tender.

[Kendra Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was for school but I love play therapy and my man Gary so overall a good read

[Sophia Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book! I learned so much about how our Father views us from this clinician’s perspective. Gary Landreth is truly the master, the great gift to play therapy 🥹