Covering the process of therapy from beginning to end, this engaging text helps students and practitioners use play confidently and effectively with children, adolescents, and adults struggling with emotional or behavioral problems or life challenges.

With an accessible theory-to-practice focus, the book explains the basics of different play therapy approaches and invites readers to reflect on and develop their own clinical style. It is filled with rich case material and specific examples of play techniques and strategies.

The expert authors provide steps for building strong relationships with clients; exploring their clinical issues and underlying dynamics; developing and working toward clear treatment goals; and collaborating with parents and teachers.

A chapter on common challenges offers insightful guidance for navigating difficult situations in the playroom.

A practical look at how play therapy can promote mental health wellness in children and adolescents. Revised and expanded, The Therapeutic Powers of Play, Second Edition explores the powerful effects that play therapy has on different areas within a child or adolescent's life, such as communication, emotion regulation, relationship enhancement, and personal strengths.

Editors Charles Schaefer and Athena Drewes—renowned experts in the field of play therapy—discuss the different interventions and components of treatment that can move clients to change. Leading play therapists contributed to this volume, supplying a wide repertoire of practical techniques and applications in each chapter for use in clinical practice, including:

• Direct teaching
• Indirect teaching
• Self-expression
• Relationship enhancement
• Attachment formation
• Catharsis
• Stress inoculation
• Creative problem solving
• Self-esteem

Filled with clinical case vignettes from various theoretical viewpoints, the second edition is an invaluable resource for play and child therapists of all levels of experience and theoretical orientations.