Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents: Creative and Play-Based Approaches

Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents offers mental health professionals an integration of creative and playful approaches and solution-focused therapy.

The author presents developmentally appropriate and expressive alternatives to oral communication including sandtray, writing, puppetry, drawing and colouring, photography, and music. The text presents an overview of strength-based and creative approaches with a focused examination of the philosophy and process of solution-focused therapy, then divides chapters into specific stages of therapy; beginnings, searching for treasure, setting goals, and ending the session; with creative techniques offered in each section. The final chapter addresses working with children and adolescents in solution-focused groups, including how to set up groups and progress through different group stages, presenting specific techniques and activities focused on each stage of the group process.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Strength-Based Approaches
3. Creative and Playful Approaches
4. Client Considerations
5. Solutions-Focused Therapy and Integration with Creative and Tangible Approaches
6. Motivating the Client
7. Beginnings
8. Digging for Treasure
9. The Miracle Question and other Goal-setting Techniques
10. Ending the Session
11. Follow-up Sessions
12. Solution-focused Group Approaches

"Becky Taylor ties her knowledge and experience with children, adolescents, and families in multiple settings to the best clinical approaches available: solution-focused brief therapy, resilience research, and play therapy. Chapter 8, 'Digging for Treasure', is a great metaphor for reading this book, a resource for novices and experienced counselors alike. Dig in!"
- Frank N. Thomas, professor of counseling & counselor education, College of Education, Texas Christian University; clinical fellow and approved supervisor, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

"Becky Taylor has done a formidable job in taking the reader of this book on a journey through a solution-focused landscape where the abundant tools of play therapy meet with the strength-based approach to help children of all ages overcome their problems and difficulties."
- Ben Furman, Finnish psychiatrist, psychotherapist and an internationally renowned teacher of solution-focused therapy, coaching and organizational development; founder of the Helsinki Brief Therapy Institute.

"Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents lives up to its title. This text, a useful contribution to the literature, provides clinicians with playful interventions to build on solutions and honor a child?s own expertise in their life. Child therapists who wish to add play-based, solution-focused ideas to their toolbox should put this text on their wish list."
- Pamela K. King, international speaker and trainer, author of Tools for Effective Therapy with Children and Families: A Solution Focused Approach

"Becky Taylor has done a formidable job in taking the reader of this book on a journey through a solution-focused landscape where the abundant tools of play therapy meet with the strength-based approach to help children of all ages overcome their problems and difficulties."
- Ben Furman, Finnish psychiatrist, psychotherapist and an internationally renowned teacher of solution-focused therapy, coaching and organizational development; founder of the Helsinki Brief Therapy Institute.

"Solution-Focused Therapy with Children and Adolescents lives up to its title. This text, a useful contribution to the literature, provides clinicians with playful interventions to build on solutions and honor a child?s own expertise in their life. Child therapists who wish to add play-based, solution-focused ideas to their toolbox should put this text on their wish list."
- Pamela K. King, international speaker and trainer, author of Tools for Effective Therapy with Children and Families: A Solution Focused Approach