Play in child development and psychotherapy: toward empirically supported practice

"Child psychotherapy is in a state of transition. On one hand, pretend play is a major tool of therapists who work with children. On the other, a mounting chorus of critics claims that play therapy lacks demonstrated treatment efficacy. These complaints are not invalid. Clinical research has on...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Russ, Sandra Walker (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum 2004
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Online Access:Inhaltsverzeichnis
Summary:"Child psychotherapy is in a state of transition. On one hand, pretend play is a major tool of therapists who work with children. On the other, a mounting chorus of critics claims that play therapy lacks demonstrated treatment efficacy. These complaints are not invalid. Clinical research has only begun. Extensive studies by developmental researchers have, however, strongly supported the importance of play for children. We are accumulating much knowledge about the ways in which play is involved in the development of cognitive, affective, and personality processes that are crucial for adaptive functioning. But there has been a yawning gap between research findings and useful suggestions for practitioners." "Play in Child Development and Psychotherapy represents the first effort to bridge the gap and place play therapy on a firmer empirical foundation. Sandra Russ applies our sophisticated contemporary understanding of the role of play in child development to the work of mental health professionals who are trying to design intervention and prevention programs that can be empirically evaluated. Never losing sight of the complex problems that face child therapists, she integrates clinical and developmental research and theory into a comprehensive, up-to-date review of current approaches to conceptualizing play and to doing both therapeutic play work with children and the assessment that necessarily precedes and accompanies it." "Clinicians, trainees, and students will welcome Russ's clear guidelines for empirically supported practice, researchers will appreciate her suggestions for new directions to explore."--BOOK JACKET.
Item Description:Includes bibliographical references (157-172) and indexes
Physical Description:XI, 181 S. Ill.
ISBN:0805830650