Customer Reviews

Play in Family Therapy

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Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques[
[ASIN:0968519962 Creative Family Therapy Techniques: Play, Art, and Expressive Activities to Engage Children in Family Sessions (Sociology Family Relationships)]]

I originally read this book as a requirement for a one-credit graduate course taught by Eliana Gil. The class was one of the most useful I took in my play therapy training, and I use this book as a regular refresher for the skills I learned. Parents and children respond well to her techniques and they can be used to fit a number of presenting issues. This book is a must-have resource for any clinician who has wanted to engage and help families.

Eliana Gil is the pioneer of family play therapy and she has written a great foundation book for clinicians who seek to blend family therapy and play therapy. I particularly like the chapters on integrating play therapy and family therapy. Gil also presents some wonderful techniques for use in family sessions. Other books I recommend for therapists who conduct child-focused family therapy include:


Family Art Therapy: Foundations of Theory and Practice (Family Therapy and Counseling)

Creative Family Therapy Techniques: Play, Art, and Expressive Activities to Engage Children in Family Sessions (Sociology Family Relationships)

Engaging Children in Family Therapy: Creative Approaches to Integrating Theory and Research

This book provides a great foundational approach to using play therapy with family counseling work. Beginners will find it especially helpful in navigating the road of integrating family therapy with play therapy. Creative Family Therapy Techniques: Play, Art, and Expressive Activities to Engage Children in Family Sessions

I just finished my clinical work as a marriage and family therapist and this book has been really helpful in working with families. There are great ideas of how to use play to assess family functioning as well as activities to facilitate change in how the family interacts with each other. It is definitely client centered and allows the family to create their own reality. This book has really great ideas for interventions and has case examples of how they have been used. It is worth the money if you are looking to include experiential interventions in therapy with families and children.

This book is a good resource for alternatives to "boring" family therapy.