| Acknowledgments | xiii |
| Preface | xv |
1 | About Me, Garry Landreth | 1 |
| Principles for Relationships with Children | 5 |
| Reference | 7 |
2 | The Meaning of Play | 9 |
| Functions of Play | 9 |
| Symbolic Play | 11 |
| Children Communicate Through Play | 14 |
| Play in the Therapeutic Process | 16 |
| Stages in the Play Therapy Process | 20 |
| Play of Adjusted and Maladjusted Children | 23 |
| References | 25 |
3 | History and Development of Play Therapy | 27 |
| Psychoanalytic Play Therapy | 29 |
| Release Play Therapy | 32 |
| Relationship Play Therapy | 34 |
| Nondirective Play Therapy | 35 |
| Play Therapy in Elementary Schools | 35 |
| Association for Play Therapy | 37 |
| University Training | 38 |
| Center for Play Therapy | 38 |
| Filial Therapy | 39 |
| Trends in Play Therapy | 40 |
| Play Therapy Results | 43 |
| References | 45 |
4 | A View of Children | 53 |
| Tenets for Relating to Children | 53 |
| Children Are Resilient | 55 |
| Some Children Are Like Popcorn, and Some Are Like Molasses | 57 |
| References | 58 |
5 | Child-Centered Play Therapy | 59 |
| Personality Theory | 60 |
| A Child-Centered View of Personality and Behavior | 64 |
| Key Concepts | 65 |
| Adjustment and Maladjustment | 67 |
| Therapeutic Conditions for Growth | 70 |
| The Therapeutic Relationship | 79 |
| Objectives | 87 |
| What Children Learn in Play Therapy | 89 |
| References | 93 |
6 | The Play Therapist | 95 |
| Creating Differences | 96 |
| Being There | 97 |
| Personality Characteristics | 98 |
| Therapist Self-Understanding | 102 |
| Therapist Self-Acceptance | 105 |
| Role of the Play Therapist | 108 |
| Ryan--A Dying Child in Play Therapy | 110 |
| Supervised Practice Facilitates Self-Insight | 116 |
| The Inner Struggle of a Beginning Play Therapist | 118 |
| Recommended Training Program | 120 |
| References | 123 |
7 | The Playroom and Materials | 125 |
| Playroom Location | 126 |
| Playroom Size | 126 |
| Playroom Characteristics | 127 |
| Other Settings for Play Therapy | 130 |
| Rationale for Selecting Toys and Materials | 132 |
| Categories of Toys | 138 |
| Totebag Playroom | 143 |
| Recommended Toys and Materials for the Playroom | 144 |
| Special Considerations | 146 |
| Suggested Titles for the Play Therapy Program in Schools | 148 |
| Implementing a Play Therapy Program in Schools | 148 |
| Reference | 149 |
8 | The Parent's Part in the Process | 151 |
| Background Information | 152 |
| Must Parents Also Be in Therapy? | 154 |
| The Parent Interview | 157 |
| Obtain Permission from Legal Guardian | 165 |
| Psychiatric Referral | 166 |
| Explaining Play Therapy to Parents | 166 |
| Preparing Parents for Separation | 169 |
| References | 171 |
9 | Beginning the Relationship: The Child's Hour | 173 |
| Objectives of the Relationship | 174 |
| Making Contact with the Child | 176 |
| The Initial Encounter in the Waiting Room | 179 |
| Structuring the Relationship in the Playroom | 182 |
| Responding to the Reluctant, Anxious Child | 187 |
| The Child's View of the Play Therapy Relationship | 189 |
| Questioning Techniques of Children | 193 |
| Explaining the Observation Mirror and Recording | 200 |
| Taking Notes During the Session | 202 |
| Play Therapists' Reactions to Their First Sessions | 203 |
| Basic Dimensions of the Relationship | 204 |
| References | 206 |
10 | Characteristics of Facilitative Responses | 207 |
| Sensitive Understanding: Being With | 208 |
| Caring Acceptance | 209 |
| Details of Therapeutic Responsiveness | 211 |
| Facilitative Responses | 215 |
| Returning Responsibility to Children | 221 |
| Typical Nonfacilitative Responses | 224 |
| Paul--A Fearful, Acting-Out Child in Play Therapy | 232 |
11 | Therapeutic Limit Setting | 245 |
| Basic Guidelines in Limit Setting | 245 |
| When to Present Limits | 248 |
| Rationale for Therapeutic Limits | 249 |
| Procedures in Therapeutic Limit Setting | 258 |
| Steps in the Therapeutic Limit-Setting Process | 259 |
| When Limits Are Broken | 262 |
| Tentativeness in Limit Setting | 265 |
| Situational Limits | 266 |
| Beginning Play Therapists' Reactions to Setting Limits | 272 |
| References | 272 |
12 | Typical Problems in Play Therapy and What to Do If... | 273 |
| What to Do If the Child Is Silent | 274 |
| What to Do If the Child Wants to Bring Toys or Food into the Playroom | 276 |
| What to Do If the Child Is Overly Dependent | 277 |
| What to Do If the Child Persists in Seeking Praise | 279 |
| What to Do If the Child Says You Talk Weird | 282 |
| What to Do If the Child Wants the Therapist to Play a Guessing Game | 283 |
| What to Do If the Child Asks for Expressions of Affection | 284 |
| What to Do If the Child Wants to Hug or Sit in the Therapist's Lap | 286 |
| What to Do If the Child Tries to Steal a Toy | 287 |
| What to Do If the Child Refuses to Leave the Playroom | 289 |
| What to Do If the Therapist Unexpectedly Cannot Keep an Appointment | 291 |
13 | Issues in Play Therapy | 293 |
| Confidentiality | 293 |
| Participation in the Child's Play | 295 |
| Accepting Gifts from Children in Play Therapy | 299 |
| Giving the Child a Reward at the End of Sessions or a Memento at Termination | 302 |
| Asking the Child to Clean Up | 303 |
| Informing Children of the Reason They Are in Play Therapy | 306 |
| Bringing a Friend to the Playroom | 307 |
| Inviting Parents or Siblings to the Playroom | 310 |
| References | 310 |
14 | Intensive and Short-Term Play Therapy | 311 |
| Intensive Play Therapy | 312 |
| Short-Term Play Therapy | 316 |
| Summary | 319 |
| References | 319 |
15 | Children in Play Therapy | 321 |
| Nancy--From Baldness to Curls | 322 |
| Cindy--A Manipulative Child | 330 |
| Amy--A Selective Mute Child | 340 |
| Significance of Sibling Goup Play Therapy | 348 |
| Summary | 349 |
| References | 350 |
16 | Determining Therapeutic Process and Termination | 351 |
| Determining Therapeutic Movement Within Sessions | 352 |
| Dimensions of Change | 353 |
| The Meaning of Termination | 356 |
| Reference Points for Determining Termination | 357 |
| Procedures for Ending the Relationship | 360 |
| Children's Reactions to the Last Session | 362 |
| References | 364 |
17 | Filial Therapy: Child-Parent-Relationship Training (CPR for Parents) | 365 |
| Parental Efficacy | 366 |
| Historical Development of Filial Therapy | 368 |
| The Process of Filial Therapy | 370 |
| Selecting Parents | 373 |
| Group Format for Training | 376 |
| Structure and Content of the Training Sessions | 378 |
| Research and Evaluation | 388 |
| References | 396 |
| Index | 399 |
| About the Author | 407 |