Deep Play - Exploring the Use of Depth in Psychotherapy with Children

Offering theoretical grounding and practical techniques that demonstrate the profound therapeutic impact deep play can produce in work with children

Contributions from a range of therapeutic disciplines demonstrate deep play's capacity to elicit real change in children and how they think about themselves and the world. Including techniques with deep sandboxes, clay and water, alongside case studies and theoretical grounding, this book establishes a new depth psychology approach for treatment.

Therapeutic deep play has the capacity for children to express deep emotions, overcome seemingly insurmountable issues and resolve serious problems. Working with children in this profound way, therapists are able to not only eliminate symptoms, but to change the very structure of how children live with themselves, their defense and belief systems.

The contributors to this book all work deeply, allowing children to take risks in a safe environment, and become fully absorbed in physical play. Chapters include play with deep sandboxes, clay, water, and various objects, and look at a range of pertinent case studies to demonstrate the therapeutic techniques in practice, alongside the theoretical concepts in which they are grounded. A new theoretical approach is established that takes from psychoanalysis as well as neuroscience and behaviourism, and offers a depth psychology approach in the treatment of children.

This will be a valuable resource for anyone working therapeutically with children through play, including play therapists, psychotherapists, psychologists, arts therapists, counsellors, social workers and family therapists.