Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma The Power of Play

Featuring in-depth case presentations from master clinicians, this volume highlights the remarkable capacity of traumatized children to guide their own healing process. The book describes what posttraumatic play looks like and how it can foster resilience and coping. Demonstrated are applications of play, art, and other expressive therapies with children who have faced such overwhelming experiences as sexual abuse or chronic neglect. The contributors discuss ways to facilitate forms of expression that promote mastery and growth, as well as how to intervene when play becomes stuck in destructive patterns. They share effective strategies for engaging hard-to-reach children and building trusting therapeutic relationships.This book will be invaluable to mental health professionals working with children, including child psychologists, social workers, play and art therapists, counselors, family therapists, and psychiatrists. It will also serve as a supplemental text in clinically oriented graduate-level courses.

Eliana Gil, PhD, is Clinical and Educational Specialist for Childhelp, Inc., in Fairfax, Virginia. She is also a partner in a private group practice, the Gil Center for Healing and Play, which provides mental health services to children and families for a variety of emotional, behavioral, and social problems, where she specializes in the treatment of traumatized children and their families. She is an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Tech's Family Therapy Department, a registered play therapy supervisor, a registered art therapist, and a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor. A well-known author, lecturer, and clinician, Dr. Gil has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment for more than 35 years. She has published numerous books and videotapes on child abuse and related topics, 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. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dr. Gil is bilingual and bicultural. She consults and trains across the country and currently conducts intensive 3-day trainings through the Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy in northern Virginia.