Play Therapy with Traumatized Children

Some of the most rewarding work a therapist can do is help achild recover from a traumatic event. But where to begin? A growingbody of play therapy literature offers many specific techniques anda variety of theoretical models; however, many therapists are stillsearching for a comprehensive model of treatment that incorporatessolid theoretical constructs with effective play therapyinterventions.

Clinicians have long recognized that trauma therapy is not justa matter of techniques but a journey with a beginning, middle, andend. In a pioneering contribution to the field, Play Therapywith Traumatized Children: A Prescriptive Approach, the authorcodifies the process in her model, Flexibly Sequential Play Therapy(FSPT). Integrating non-directive and directive approaches, thiscomponents-based model allows for the uniqueness of each child tobe valued while providing a safe, systematic journey towards traumaresolution. The FSPT model demystifies play-based trauma treatmentby outlining the scope and sequence of posttraumatic play therapyand providing detailed guidance for clinicians at each step of theprocess.

Dramatically demonstrating the process of healing in casehistories drawn from fifteen years of clinical practice withtraumatized children, Play Therapy with Traumatized Childrenaddresses:

• Creating a safe place for trauma processing

• Augmenting the child's adaptive coping strategies and soothinghis or her physiology

• Correcting the child's cognitive distortions

• Ensuring that caregivers are facilitative partners intreatment

• Inviting gradual exposure to trauma content through play

• Creating developmentally sensitive trauma narratives

• Using termination to make positive meaning of the post-traumaself