Trauma and Play Therapy: Helping Children Heal

by Paris Goodyear-Brown

Trauma and Play Therapy synthesizes new developments in the study of children's trauma recovery to assist clinicians in combining play therapy with other powerful ways of addressing the needs of hurt children. The TraumaPlayTM model, formerly known as Flexibly Sequential Play Therapy, equips practitioners to manage and adapt aspects of the play therapy place and process in order to help children tell their stories while draining the emotional toxicity from traumatic experiences. Chapters explore the neurobiological and developmental foundations of play therapy as well as strategies for navigating children's trauma in relation to specific aspects of play therapy such as sensory integration, metaphor, and humor. Enriched by a tapestry of illustrative case examples and tools for therapists, this is a vital new book for clinicians working at the intersection of play and children's trauma.

Genres: Counselling

236 pages, ebook

Published February 12, 2019

Reviews

[Hollis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was informative and the author provided activities for clinicians to use. I wish the author had added more of a fundamental explanation for activities and concepts because I spent a lot of time looking things up to understand and utilize what she offered. Also, she mentioned a lot of obscure items/toys/activities that are “must have” for child trauma work, and I found this to be unrealistic and inaccessible for the average play therapist. This book is dense but valuable, hence the 3.5 star rating. I would recommend chapters or concepts from the book to others but not the entire book.

[Dorothy Kruczek · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a therapist or a trauma therapist at that, this is a must read! Love how she uses real life examples to illustrate her points and helps explain why she does what she does and what its purpose is. Definitely opened my eyes and mind to how children absorb information and the types of meaningful exercises and play that can be used to better help, support, and process their traumatic experiences.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of trauma play therapy that integrates narratives, somatic, expressive, and neurobiology while also weaving in client stories and unique interventions that can be used with clients of all ages!

[Hilary Mcfaul · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on trauma and Play Therapy I’ve ever read!

[Natalie Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous resource.