Polyvagal Power in the Playroom shows therapists how to treat children using play therapy to address the hierarchy of autonomic states. What do children need and how do play therapists purposefully use the principles of play to increase the feeling states of safety and regulation? Step inside the playroom and discover how trained play therapists are addressing treatment using polyvagal theory when working with children and teens. The book is organized into three parts: Interruptions explores developmental derailments brought about by relational betrayals such as domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and attachment ruptures implicated in a myriad of adverse childhood experiences. In these cases, the neuroception of safety scaffolded through "good enough" rhythms of healthy caregiver/child interactions is either compromised through a thousand relational cuts (parental addiction or parental mental illness) or abruptly ended (divorce, death or incarceration of a parent) Happenings explores events that involve an external intrusion, such as natural disasters, wars, and pandemics Expressions of risk and resilience explores mental health symptom clusters such as depression, anxiety, dissociation, and explosive behavior through the lens of dorsal vagal or sympathetic nervous system states, as well as specific play therapy methods for healing the nervous system The therapeutic powers of play are illustrated through case examples and in practical, play-based interventions woven throughout the book. Child and play therapists will come away from Polyvagal Power in the Playroom with the tools they need to help children and their caregivers achieve deeper levels of safety and connection.

Child and play therapists will come away from Polyvagal Power in the Playroom with the tools they need to help children and their caregivers achieve deeper levels of safety and connection.

A systems-oriented look at how unhealed trauma can prevent optimal functioning—and what to do about it Trauma Impacts: Repercussions of Individual and Collective Trauma explores the many ways that traumatic experiences affect people from diverse backgrounds, as individuals and in groups. In chapters contributed by experts in their fields, this book offers a systemic overview of how trauma impacts all humans, then delves into the manifestations of trauma in specific populations like BIPOC communities, neurodivergent children, and those in helping professions. The book's third and final section looks at emerging modalities for working with trauma and implications for the future of trauma-focused therapy. Ideal for anyone who works closely with individuals who have experienced trauma—therapists, educators, social workers, and beyond—Trauma Impacts will benefit from a thorough understanding on how trauma continues to influence lives, even long after the fact. Trauma can interfere with meeting basic needs, forming healthy relationships, and finding fulfillment in the pursuit of individual and collective goals. When we conceptualize these impacts, we become empowered to help people process their traumatic experiences, integrate the pain they have experienced, and lead more satisfying lives. Understand the intersectional effects of trauma on individuals and systems Discover hope for healing through real-world voices and current research Consider how collective trauma manifests in the lives of individuals Gain insights that can help you work more effectively with clients

INTRODUCING A PRACTICAL MODEL OF PLAY THERAPY FOR TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN Some of the most rewarding work a therapist can do is help a child recover from a traumatic event. But where to begin? A growing body of play therapy literature offers many specific techniques and a variety of theoretical models; however, many therapists are still searching for a comprehensive model of treatment that incorporates solid theoretical constructs with effective play therapy interventions. Clinicians have long recognized that trauma therapy is not just a matter of techniques but a journey with a beginning, middle, and end. In a pioneering contribution to the field, Play Therapy with Traumatized Children: A Prescriptive Approach, the author codifies the process in her model, Flexibly Sequential Play Therapy (FSPT). Integrating non-directive and directive approaches, this components-based model allows for the uniqueness of each child to be valued while providing a safe, systematic journey towards trauma resolution. The FSPT model demystifies play-based trauma treatment by outlining the scope and sequence of posttraumatic play therapy and providing detailed guidance for clinicians at each step of the process. Dramatically demonstrating the process of healing in case histories drawn from fifteen years of clinical practice with traumatized children, Play Therapy with Traumatized Children addresses: Creating a safe place for trauma processing Augmenting the child’s adaptive coping strategies and soothing his or her physiology Correcting the child’s cognitive distortions Ensuring that caregivers are facilitative partners in treatment Inviting gradual exposure to trauma content through play Creating developmentally sensitive trauma narratives Using termination to make positive meaning of the post-trauma self

Innovative clinicians share their experiences integrating Polyvagal Theory into their treatment models. Clinicians who have dedicated their work to bringing the benefits of the Polyvagal Theory to a range of clients have come together to present Polyvagal Theory in a creative and personal way. Chapters on a range of topics from compassionate medical care to optimized therapeutic relationships to clinician's experiences as parents extract from the theory the powerful influence and importance of cases and feelings of safety in the clinical setting. Additionally, there are chapters which: elaborate on the principle of safety in clinical practice with children with abuse histories explain the restorative consequences of movement, rhythm, and dance in promoting social connectedness and resilience in trauma survivors explains how Polyvagal Theory can be used to understand the neurophysiological processes in various therapies discuss dissociative processes and treatments designed to experience bodily feelings of safety and trust examine fear of flying and how using positive memories as an active "bottom up" neuroceptive process may effectively down-regulate defense shed light on the poorly understood experience of grief Through the insights of innovative and benevolent clinicians, whose treatment models are Polyvagal informed, this book provides an accessible way for clinicians to embrace this groundbreaking theory in their own work.

Play Therapy Treatment Planning with Children and Families is a comprehensive guide that provides an integrative and prescriptive approach to creating customized treatment plans. It’s an excellent textbook for graduate programs in social work, counseling, and family therapy and an invaluable guide for practicing clinicians in all settings. After exploring and explaining the many modalities for treating children and adolescents, this book provides sample treatment plans using a variety of case vignettes. Chapters also take readers through a road map for case conceptualization, meeting with caregivers, problem identification, goal development, diagnosis determination, determination of interventions and termination, and much more.

A comprehensive guide to the identification, assessment, and treatment of child sexual abuse The field of child sexual abuse has experienced an explosion of research, literature, and enhanced treatment methods over the last thirty years. Representing the latest refinements of thought in this field, Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse: Identification, Assessment, and Treatment combines the most current research with a wealth of clinical experience. The contributing authors, many of whom are pioneers in their respective specialties, include researchers and clinicians, forensic interviewers and law enforcement professionals, caseworkers and victim advocates, all of whom do the work of helping children who have been sexually victimized. Offering a snapshot of the state of the field as it stands today, Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse explores a variety of issues related to child sexual abuse, from identification, assessment, and treatment methods to models for implementation and prevention, including: The impact of sexual abuse on the developing brain The potential implications of early sexual victimization Navigating the complexities of multidisciplinary teams Forensic interviewing and clinical assessment Treatment options for children who have traumagenic symptoms as a response to their sexual victimization Treating children with sexual behavior problems and adolescents who engage in illegal sexual behavior Secondary trauma and vicarious traumatization Cultural considerations and prevention efforts Edited by a leader in the field of child therapy, this important reference equips helping professionals on the front lines in the battle against child sexual abuse not merely with state-of-the-art knowledge but also with a renewed vision for the importance of their role in the shaping of our culture and the healing of victimized children.

Offers play therapists practical ways of handling a pervasive issue with intense and aggressive play by their clients. With an understanding of aggressive play based on brain function and neuroscience, this book provides therapists with a framework to work authentically with aggressive play, while making it an integrative and therapeutic experience for the child. Through the lens of neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology, therapists are taught how to integrate the intensity experienced by both the child and the therapist during aggressive play in a way that leads towards greater healing and integration. The book explains the neurological processes that lead kids to dysregulation and provides therapists with tools to help their clients facilitate deep emotional healing, without causing their own nervous system to shut down. Topics covered include: embracing aggression; understanding the nervous system; understanding regulation; developing yourself as an external regulator; authentic expression; setting boundaries; working with emotional flooding; supporting parents during aggressive play.

Play therapy expert Terry Kottman and her colleague Kristin Meany-Walen provide a comprehensive update to this spirited and fun text on integrating Adlerian techniques into play therapy. Clinicians, school counselors, and students will find this to be the definitive guide for using Adlerian strategies with children to foster positive growth and effective communication with their parents and teachers. After an introduction to the basics of the approach and the concepts of Individual Psychology, the stages of Adlerian play therapy are outlined through step-by-step instructions, detailed treatment plans, an ongoing case study, and numerous vignettes. In addition to presenting up-to-date information on trends in play therapy, this latest edition emphasizes the current climate of evidence-based treatment and includes a new chapter on conducting research in play therapy. Appendixes contain useful worksheets, checklists, and resources that can be easily integrated into practice. Additional resources related to this book can be found in the ACA Online Bookstore at www.counseling.org/publications/bookstore and supplementary material Here *Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com. *To purchase print copies, please visit the ACA website. *Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to [email protected]