The Definitive Guide to Theraplay® for Practitioners, officially endorsed by the Theraplay® Institute
Theraplay is an intervention that focuses on enhancing the connection, trust and joy between a child and a parent. It involves interactive, playful activities using simple face-to-face reciprocal interactions, and involves using all of the senses, including rhythm, movement and touch.
This comprehensive guide outlines the theory, reflection, and skill development of the practitioner - the true power house of Theraplay. By maintaining a focus on practice throughout, embedding theory into practice examples, it brings the spirit of Theraplay to life.
Whether you are a Theraplay practitioner, or simply want to find out how this remarkable intervention works, this book is essential reading.
Part 1 covers the key principles of the intervention
Part 2 addresses Theraplay in Practice: how to use the Marschak Interaction Method (MIM), how to set up a room and choose activities and considerations for working with different client groups
Part 3 encourages the reader to engage in their own development and the stages involved
Parts 4 and 5 provide a wealth of useful resources, checklists, handouts, sample sessions and an up-to-date list of Theraplay activities
TESTIMONIAL
"This is a lively, personable and fascinating foray into the real-world practice of Theraplay. The stories and anecdotes centering around children and parents who are on the monumental journey to more secure attachments and better relationships is underscored by the authors' deep introspection on the complexities, grueling difficulty, and transcendent moments of the work they do. As an early childhood educator, I loved that this book keeps a deep respect for the lived experience of children and families at the center of all its narratives, and gives both current and prospective Theraplay practitioners a window into this wonderfully humanistic approach to healing."
Author of: Trauma through the Eyes of a Childs Eyes; Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing, and Trauma-Proofing your Kids; A Parent’s Guide for Instilling Confidence Joy and Resilience
I have found the Theraplay approach to healing distressed children to be at the leading edge of humanistic and evidence-based treatments. What this clear volume offers are the step-by-step precise protocols for assessment and treatment using this vital method. Various activities and exercises are simply described and can be applied to many therapeutic situations. The book is a rich contribution, not only for practitioners of Theraplay, but is truly a gift to all clinicians working to alleviate the suffering of troubled children.
Distinguished University Scientist, Kinsey Institute; Professor of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In Theraplay: The Practitioner’s Guide, Vivien Norris and Dafna Lender skillfully and comprehensively explain the essential principles of Theraplay. Theraplay is an efficient mode of therapy for children that seamlessly incorporates within a play environment several elements that are shared with models of psychotherapy. In the Guide, we learn about efficient exercises that are effective in enhancing the child’s ability to regulate state can be delivered as games; we learn that Theraplay is rooted in developmental science (e.g., attachment theory) and is consistent with contemporary neuroscience (e.g., Polyvagal Theory). From a Polyvagal perspective Theraplay respects the biobehavior state of the child, applies therapist initiated social engagement strategies to trigger a state of safety in the child, and promotes synchronous reciprocal interactions as a neural exercise that increases social flexibility and improves emotion regulation. It is through this development of the child’s ability to feel safe and secure that is key to Theraplay’s efficacy and functionally illustrates the attributes of Theraplay as a model therapy for children.
Author of New York Times #1 Best Seller, The Body Keeps The Score
Theraplay is a terrific treatment for disorganized and traumatized kids. This book is highly recommended for all clinicians, teachers and other human beings trying to help children function and thrive!
Senior Partner, Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery
Theraplay is a cherished gift to be shared confidently with parents. The gift is deceptively simple and at the same time provides a complex and rich foundation for establishing or deepening attachment bonds. The approach is playful, engaging, safe, and designed to create positive shared memories of warm and attuned physical and emotional experiences between parents and children. This book took my breath away in its congruence with the Theraplay approach: It is engaging to read, it provides ample and strong structure for the Theraplay practitioner, it challenges us to weave attachment theories with unique responses to clients, and it nurtures and encourages practitioners to provide the best possible assistance they can. Vivien Norris and Dafna Lenders’ expertise shines through as they provide a “virtual supervisor” type of guidance to the reader, answering many of the questions that we practitioners have as we negotiate our daily practices. Not only is this book a remarkable addition to the literature on Theraplay, it also succeeds in integrating current neuroscience and research to further guide and strengthen interactive clinical nuances. I will be reading this book multiple times because there are layers of important information to guide us in our work. I am left speechless with gratitude. It’s been many years since I’ve been so enlightened and re-energized by a book with such heart and substance!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dafna Lender, LCSW has been working as a child and family therapist for over 20 years. She is a certified trainer, supervisor and consultant in Theraplay® and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, and coauthor of Theraplay: The Practitioner’s Guide. Dafna has successfully treated children and their parents with a variety of backgrounds, including children raised in orphanages, with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, exposed to domestic violence and community violence and children of parents with chronic mental illness. Dafna provides training and consultation to psychotherapists around the world in 3 languages. Dafna provides training and consultation to psychotherapists around the world in English, French and Hebrew.
Vivien Norris, DClinPsy, DipMusicTh is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Music Therapist. She is also a Certified Theraplay® Practitioner and accredited in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy®. Vivien has been working as a Clinical Psychologist within the NHS in the UK for over twenty years specialising in therapeutic work with families and in the area of fostering and adoption. She has a longstanding interest in trauma and has worked in various roles in the field, in therapeutic communities with adolescents and leading national research into the impact of the Asian tsunami.
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