Child-Centered Play Therapy Workbook: A Self-Directed Guide for Professionals

This indispensable workbook successfully combines the foundational content needed to orient play therapists to the child-centred approach with an engaging series of reflective and experiential activities designed to help develop therapeutic competence.

The many activities included here allow readers to engage in an interactive process to learn the philosophy and skills of child-centred play therapy: seeing the world through the child’s eyes, empathising, tracking, setting limits, recognising childhood as culture, identifying themes and stages of therapy, and more.

Throughout, the authors provide a personal backdrop for learning and living the child-centred play therapy philosophy, based on their many years conducting and supervising play therapy sessions. Both budding and seasoned play and child therapists stand to gain richly from their insights.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Why Empathy?

• Reflecting Feelings 
• Empathizing Versus Giving Solutions

Part 2: The Child-Centered Approach

• Child-Centered Play Therapy Versus Other Approaches
• The Eight Basic Principles
• Childhood as Culture
• Blending the Culture of Childhood and the Eight Basic Principles

Part 3: Skills and Guidelines

• Tracking 
• Responding to Children’s Questions and Directions 
• Setting Limits 
• Closing the Play Therapy Session 
• No-Nos 
• Toys and Settings

Part 4: Ready for Practice (and Play)

• Structuring the Play Therapy Session 
• Themes 
• Firsts 
• Stages of Therapy 
• Ready for Termination? 
• Commonly Asked Questions 
• Evaluating the Therapist’s Responses
• Treatment Goals
• The Gift of Child-Centered Play Therapy

Part 5: What the Future Will Bring

• What Do You Believe?
• A Letter to Play Therapy

Appendixes

• Sample Answers 
• Forms and Checklists 
• Pathways to Advanced Training and Credentialing