Play in Family Therapy

by Eliana Gil

"At a national conference, I presented a workshop entitled "Do Children Hate Family Therapy?" The attendance was good. Too good. Clearly, the title struck a chord, because children often seem to dislike family therapy. And who could fault them for it? The fact is that many family therapists either exclude young children or do not know how to involve them actively in family sessions....

"This is where Dr. Gil's new book succeeds so wonderfully. By drawing on her extensive training and experience as both a child therapist and a family therapist, she shows us how to use all family members' capacities for expressive play simultaneously. Never before have we been treated to such a variety of family play techniques that are presented in such vivid clinical detail....Her methods are captivating to read about and described with sufficient depth so that the reader can visualize their application in everyday clinical situations." --From the Foreword by Robert-Jay Green, Ph.D.

In Play in Family Therapy , Dr. Eliana Gil provides a hands-on guide to a wealth of play therapy techniques for working with children ages 3 to 12, and shows how to adapt these techniques to conjoint family therapy. Illustrating the inexhaustible potential that play techniques hold for enhancing relatedness, communication, and understanding among families, this essential new volume represents a major step toward merging child and family therapy.

Chapters in Part One cover the history of play therapy and the integration of play into family therapy. In Part Two, clinical vignettes illustrate in user-friendly detail the application of such techniques as puppet interviews, art therapy, and story-telling. Dr. Gil covers the presenting problems and family configurations clinicians are likely to encounter when working with children. Throughout, the text describes the problems that may arise--such as family members' reluctance to use play--and shows how to overcome them by setting a positive tone and conveying the expectation that families will find play enjoyable and rewarding.

Providing clinicians with useful play techniques with which to expand their repertoire of family interventions, this work will be invaluable to all therapists and students who work with children and their families.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Counselling, Grad School

226 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 1994

Reviews

[Elise Reding · Rating 3 out of 5]

The case reviews are fantastic and filled with great therapeutic ideas to utilize.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good stuff for working with tough families. nice basic goals that i still refer to in my work.

[Evelyn Bostany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offered a good introduction into play therapy and provided some good case studies to learn from. This book felt dry and was not super captivating to me, but maybe that’s because it was assigned reading for class. I feel like this book is best utilize paired with a group discussion to go over what stood out for you and what techniques you could envision yourself implementing.

[Judi Denney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Play and Family Therapists

I can’t do this right now as I do not counsel in my own office, but when I do get my own office, I am definitely going to look into a number of things that I will invest in.

[Georgia Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but profoundly effective

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent ideas for working with kids and families.

[En Yi WEI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review can be found in Amazon.com

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

MFT 557 Action Methods/Play Therapy

[Sarah Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to use handbook for play therapy with kids.

[micah ellalasingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

fastest read of my life… gives a great introduction into integrated play therapy with family therapy

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1994, I'm sure that Elian has evolved some in her therapy techniques, none the less, this book is a valuable tool for family interventions. Case study examples are valuable, as are the resources. This book will stay on my shelf for easy reference.

[Kimberly Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical, insightful guide for developing your repertoire of play therapy techniques - includes some art therapy suggestions as well. Although the theory/history of play therapy (in the beginning of this book) was interesting and informative, it felt a bit slow for me. Picked up for me in the more practical chapters which described in detail the application and interpretation of several suggested activities. This book will make a good reference tool for future use - especially in child and family therapy.

[Chava · Rating 3 out of 5]

play can be great to work on relatiosnhips within the family. I read this book to get more ideas for my practice. I enjoyed reading it and it had some nice examples.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the use of play therapy, with concrete examples and case studies.