Counseling Families

Reviews / Votes

The Editors have created a helpful publication of theory and research driven play-based interventions for family counselors. The potential benefits for each therapeutic approach is discussed. Also provided, are the detailed case examples with treatment planning and a discussion on mindfulness and the prevention of clinical burnout. This publication has much to offer play therapists, family counselors, and clinical supervisors with supervisees working with family dynamics. * Association for Play Therapy Newsletter * Counseling Families: Play-Based Treatment provides an introduction to integratingplay therapy and family counselingapproaches. It presents a review of howvarious approaches to play therapy applyto family work. Although the volumeassumes the reader possesses a basicunderstanding of the principles of nondirectedplay therapy with children, thebook is primarily geared toward counseling students and beginning practitioners.... The book blends established professional concepts, such as developmentally appropriate practice, with unconventional practices, such as the mutual child-parent application of skin lotion and therapist child prayer as therapeutic interventions. The authors consistently note the importance of developmental considerations such as creating experiences and tailoring expectations for children at their developmental level. * American Journal of Play * What is not to like? Esteemed editors, brilliant and creative contributors, and a clear need that this book meets well combine to make this a winner! Written as a guide to Masters Level Practitioners to integrate family and play approaches in counseling, it will be highly useful in graduate counseling courses as well to practitioners. -- David A. Crenshaw, PhD, clinical director of the Children's Home of Poughkeepsie Green, Myrick and Baggerly have edited the most comprehensive book on the integration of family counseling and play therapy to appear to date. This is an area of major importance to all play therapists who need to understand their own family of origin and to incorporate the family system when working with children. Highly recommended. -- John Allan, professor emeritus, University of British Columbia, and author of Inscapes of the Child's World As the cover illustrates, Green, Baggerly and Myrick have created a heartfelt volume to inform and guide students and practitioners through family counseling's current landscape. The sections of the book provide an excellent framework for surveying contemporary approaches to play in family counseling, examine meaningful play-based family assessment strategies, and explore clinical issues families are navigating, such as autism, blended families and sexual abuse.The authors discuss ethical considerations in supervision, including the vital issue of recognizing limits to the scope of practice in conducting play-based family counseling. They cover important models of supervision and emphasize flexibility and creativity in the supervisory process. Lastly, the authors devote time to promoting the importance of reflection and self-care for practitioners, applying archetypes to investigate and chronicle our professional development.The inclusive scope of Counseling Families makes it an excellent choice for beginning and seasoned practitioners to learn contemporary, integrative approaches to joining the power of play with family counseling. -- Anne Stewart, James Madison University