Synopses & Reviews
Abused and traumatized children have special therapeutic needs. This book focuses on the impact of trauma and how to help children achieve a positive resolution. Issues such as facilitating and intervening in post-traumatic play are highlighted along with clinical examples of treatment planning and technique selection. Case vignettes of child victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect demonstrate the use of nondirective and directive play therapy.
With its valuable insights and practical guidance, this book is an essential resource for all mental health professionals who work with abused children, as well as for those who work with adult survivors of abuse. Other professionals who come into contact with abused children such as protective service workers, medical professionals, clergy, teachers, and day-care professionals will find much of interest.
Review
"Eliana Gil occupies an unparalleled position among professionals in the child abuse field. No one has worked longer, more faithfully, and more responsibly with such a diverse array of abusive interactions." --Roland C. Summit, M.D.
"After reading The Healing Power of Play, child therapists from every professional background will feel better equipped to confront the enormous challenge of treating the abused child....Dr. Gil's readable guide should inspire the field and thereby benefit all of our patients." --Spencer Eth, MD
"It really gives the tools needed to conduct good play therapy with abused children....It is meant to focus on the treatment of abused children. The author has done that beautifully by giving clinical examples....The examples she has chosen are important, as most clinicians working with abused children will encounter these clinical scenarios sooner or later....This book should be read by almost everybody who is treating abused children....It is easy to read and is written in very simple flowing language." --Canadian Child Psychiatry Review
"The case illustrations are well worth reading. Health care professionals, teachers, beginning child protective services workers and other professionals working with children and their families would be introduced to to the emotional, psychological, and behavioral consequences of child maltreatment and the individual play therapy process. With increased awareness of the 'healing power of play,' appropriate referral to play therapists and knowledgeable participation on interdisciplinary and interagency teams would be enhanced." --Social Work in Health Care
"This book has utility for professionals of all disciplines who encounter children who have been hurt by others." --Families in Society
"Both the novice child therapist and experienced clinician will learn abundantly from Dr. Gil's instruction about effective intervention with even the most severely neglected and abused children." --Treating Abuse Today
Review
"Eliana Gil occupies an unparalleled position among professionals in the child abuse field. No one has worked longer, more faithfully, and more responsibly with such a diverse array of abusive interactions." --Roland C. Summit, M.D.
"After reading The Healing Power of Play, child therapists from every professional background will feel better equipped to confront the enormous challenge of treating the abused child....Dr. Gil's readable guide should inspire the field and thereby benefit all of our patients." --Spencer Eth, MD
Review
"Both the novice child therapist and experienced clinician will learn abundantly from Dr. Gil's instruction about effective intervention with even the most severely neglected and abused children."--Treating Abuse Today
Synopsis
This book describes how therapists can both facilitate constructive play therapy and intervene in posttraumatic play to help children who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect achieve a positive resolution. Traditional techniques of play therapy are reviewed for their application to this population. Throughout, numerous therapeutic aids are described to enhance the child's capacity to communicate verbally or symbolically. To help clinicians translate theory into daily practice, the book presents six detailed clinical vignettes that offer step-by-step guidelines for assessment and intervention in different situations of abuse or neglect.
Synopsis
Children traumatized by either abuse or neglect have special therapeutic needs. They can be difficult to engage for a variety of reasons: many have been frightened into silence and many have had their trust in adults betrayed; they may be hostile and acting out; and, if young, they may lack the sophistication of language or sexual terminology to clearly impart what has occurred. Whether or not children know how to communicate directly with a therapist, all children know how to play. This book describes how therapists can both facilitate constructive play therapy and intervene in posttraumatic play to help children who have been traumatized by abuse or neglect achieve a positive resolution.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-204) and index.
About the Author
Eliana Gil, PhD, is senior partner in a private group practice in Fairfax, Virginia, the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, which provides therapy, consulting, and training services. She is also Director of Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy in northern Virginia. Dr. Gil has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment for nearly 40 years. A licensed marriage, family, and child counselor; approved marriage and family therapy supervisor; registered play therapist; and registered play therapy supervisor, Dr. Gil has served on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, and is a former President of the Association for Play Therapy. She is the author of The Healing Power of Play: Working with Abused Children; Play in Family Therapy; Treating Abused Adolescents; Helping Abused and Traumatized Children: Integrating Directive and Nondirective Approaches, and other acclaimed books and video programs on child abuse and related topics. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dr. Gil is bilingual and bicultural.
Table of Contents
* The Abused Child: Treatment Issues.
* The Child Therapies: Application in Work with Abused Children.
* The Treatment of Abused Children.
CLINICAL EXAMPLES.
* Leroy: A Child Traumatized by Severe Parental Neglect.
* Johnny: A Child Traumatized by Sexual Abuse.
* Antony: A Child with Multiple Traumas.
* Gaby: A Child Traumatized by a Single Episode of Sexual Abuse.
* Laurie: A Neglected Child Traumatized by a Hospitalization.
* Sharlene: A Child Traumatized by Chronic Sexual Abuse.
* Special Issues.