Expressive Therapy with Troubled Children [Hardcover]

Gussie P. Klorer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

Expressive therapy promotes children's capacity to heal from early trauma by helping them process painful experiences over time at progressively more mature levels of understanding. Relying on excellent coping skills that have helped them survive, children in therapy are often invested in not talking due to the highly defended nature of their problems, or perhaps the need to protect a parent through silence. Alternative means of expression are often necessary. Dr. Klorer's work allows children to communicate intense feelings in ways that are natural to them, through art and play, not solely by verbalization. In treatment, children are helped to develop their own means of creative expression through idiosyncratic symbols, stories, and repetitive themes that both express and contain their pain. In addition to a means of communication, art can be used in therapy to assess levels of emotional and cognitive functioning, object relations, developmental tasks, strengths, and defense mechanisms.

Expressive therapy, which integrates object relations theory, attachment theory, and cognitive development, can be applied to family assessment and treatment as well. Professionals who work with children will welcome this book as it offers sensitive and creative ways to help even their most challenging patients.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Children whose trust has been repeatedly violated are not easy to work with, even for experienced clinicians. Establishing a safe place where they feel free to express and to work on what has happened to them is a challenge, met admirably by Dr. Klorer. Using the nonverbal modalities or art, movement, sand, and dramatic play, she engages each youngster in a unique healing process. Dr. Klorer's lively descriptions reveal a sensitivity to the child's need to maintain protective defenses, while working through as much of the trauma as possible at a symbolic level. Her child therapy is supported by her equally empathic work with parents. All clinicians working with children will learn from and be inspired by this book. (Judith A. Rubin, Ph.D., A.T.R.-B.C., H.L.M. )

This insightful and articulate book fills a gap in the literature on working with children through the expressive modality of art. Dr. Klorer writes in an engaging style that serves as an invitation to therapists to step beyond verbal therapy into a world of creative and accessible approaches to help children resolve trauma and loss. She brings the therapeutic relationship to life through powerful cases that guide the reader's understanding of how art and play activities allow children to express their inner worlds, an essential component of healing. This is a comprehensive and sensitively written book that should be on the shelf of every clinician who works with traumatized children. (Cathy A. Malchiodi, A.T.R., L.P.A.T., L.P.C.C. )

For children who have been abused and traumatized, self-expression through drawings and other creative pursuits may be the only means of conveying the complexities of their painful emotions and unspoken family secrets. Art becomes a means of communication and the symbolism used creates opportunities for positive outcomes. Dr. Klorer describes children's resilience and demonstrates interventions that are both impactful and practical. Through the use of enthralling stories and illustrations, the process of expression unfolds and assists the children to experience feelings of empowerment. This book is truly a treasure trove of artistic ideas that provide child therapists with clinical tools that work. (Gerald D. Oster, Ph.D. )

About the Author

P. Gussie Klorer, Ph.D., A.T.R., is the Director of the Graduate Art Therapy program at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She specializes in working with abused children residing in long-term treatment centers and foster homes. In her private practice, she works with children, adolescents, and families with a wide range of problems. She is on the Editorial Board of Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, and is an invited speaker at colleges and universities across the country. Dr. Klorer is a registered art therapist and practicing artist, working in mixed media.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.; 1 edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765702231
• ISBN-13: 978-0765702234
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,014,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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