Virginia Ryan

In Group Filial Therapy (GFT), therapists train parents to conduct play sessions with their own children to help meet children's therapeutic needs, and to transfer appropriate skills to family life. Based on parents' application of Child-Centred Play Therapy, taught and supervised by filial therapists, this evidence-based method is highly effective for working with families from diverse backgrounds and locations. This book provides an accessible guide to the theory and practice of GFT, and for the first time offers step-by-step guidelines for implementing the GFT program developed by Dr Guerney, the co-creator of Filial Therapy. Important practical considerations are addressed by Dr Guerney and Dr Ryan, such as how to determine the composition of groups and the duration of programs, and how to conduct Filial Therapy intakes. The facilitative attitudes and skills needed to be an effective Filial Therapy group leader are also described, and comprehensive instructions for implementing Dr Guerney's 20-week model of GFT are provided. The book closes with examples of how the program may be adapted to meet the needs of special groups. Replete with examples and dialogues bringing to life the group process, this definitive guide will enable therapists already familiar with the method, as well as those wishing to learn it, to maximise the fulfilment of therapeutic goals for participating families. Practitioners in mental health, social services and counselling, as well as parenting experts, play and filial therapists and therapists in training will find that this book expands and enriches the services they can offer their clients.

This highly readable book provides a comprehensive theoretical and practical guide to non-directive play therapy, which is an effective and ethically sound method of helping troubled children and adolescents with their emotional difficulties. It draws extensively on case material to guide practitioners through the intricacies of establishing and practising this therapeutic approach. Principles and background to the development of non-directive play therapy as a therapeutic method An updated theoretical framework for this approach, including symbolic play and its role in therapy Essential assessment, planning and practice issues and skills Working with children and their families systematically Play therapy in statutory settings Presenting therapeutic material in court proceedings This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate recent theory, research and practice developments. New issues addressed include: additional considerations when working with children in statutory settings, the integration of attachment theory within the book's Piagetian framework, using drawing, structured exercises and role play within a non-directive approach, and working with a wide variety of children's and adolescents' concerns.

Colleagues interested in the process of play therapy...will find much to enjoy and stimulate their thinking in this book. It is easy to read without being simplistic, and offers a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and delights of working with troubled children.'- Clinical Child Psychology and PsychiatryThe seven case studies in this book provide a detailed and absorbing account of play therapy undertaken with children and an adolescent, all of whom experienced emotional problems and/or varying forms of abuse. Through the narrative form of the individual case studies, details of the children's therapeutic progress are given, which are then used to inform discussion of wider practical and theoretical issues. These issues include communicating with young children, working with silent children, restoring a child's normal developmental trajectory within play therapy, and the roles of race, gender and power in play therapy.Balancing practice and theory, Case Studies in Non-directive Play Therapy will be of interest to experienced practitioners and students alike.