Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children, Adolescents and Families: Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions

Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children, Adolescents and Families: Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions

by | Apr 17, 2011 | abuse, Activity Books, Anxiety workbook, Association for Play Therapy, books, Child Therapy, children activity books, children self help, children's activity books, counseling, Creative Therapy, crisis intervention, ebooks, family therapy, fears, grief, interactive, Jill Osborne, Liana Lowenstein, mental health, Play Therapy, Play therapy interventions, Play Therapy Techniques, play therapy workbooks, ptsd treatments, sandtray therapy, Techniques, therapy, trauma, Trauma Therapy, trauma workbooks, workbooks

 

lowenstein_2006I am always looking for free or low cost resources, as I am a therapist on a budget (and I am sure there are many of you out there like me!). With so much info on the web it’s hard to narrow down what’s good, what’s not, and how I can find the resources I need for my clients without spending a fortune. That’s why I am soooo glad that I was sent this free copy of Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children, Adolescents and Families: Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions, Edited By Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S.

This ebook is a compilation of over 100 pages of techniques submitted by multiple therapists. It is divided in to different sections: 1. Engagement and Assessment Interventions, 2. Treatment Interventions, and 3. Termination Interventions. Each intervention lists goals of the intervention, materials, advanced preparation, and detailed instructions. As I read through some of the descriptions, I found them easy to follow and detailed enough that I felt that I could easily follow the intervention. The list of contributors includes 35 different therapists, many of which are authors/presenters themselves. The best part is, that the interventions come from various treatment models, including family, sandtray, and more directive, and also integrative models. I love this, as I pull from various theories myself, and therapists from different backgrounds will all be able to glean from this book due to the wide range of ideas. I recommend this book to any child/adolescent/family therapist looking for creative ideas for their clients, as it is FREE!!! and FULL of creative interventions. What do you have to lose? I will be using this resource for a long time, and can’t wait to try some of the ideas with my clients.

 

Liana Lowenstein is a presenter and also author of multiple books including:

1. Paper Dolls & Paper Airplanes: Therapeutic Exercises for Sexually Traumatized Children (with Crisci & Lay)

2. Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth

3. Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce.

4. Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children.

5. NEWEST PUBLICATION: Creative Family Therapy Techniques: Play, Art, and Expressive Activities to Engage Children in Family Sessions

 

She has edited: Volumes One and Two of Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques, and will be launching Volume Three this year.

 

To sign up for the free ebook, visit Liana Lowenstein’s website and sign up for her free monthly newsletter. You can also view her upcoming workshops.

I Survived the APT Conference!

by | Oct 11, 2009 | Association for Play Therapy, Child Therapy, children self help, Eliana Gil, Jill Osborne, Play Therapy, play therapy workbooks, self esteem, trauma, Trauma Therapy

I Survived the APT Conference!

I went to the Association for Play Therapy Conference in Atlanta, GA last week. What a blast! I enjoyed several workshops, and lots of toy shopping. I even visited the Self Esteem Shop to find my book, Sam Feels Better Now: An Interactive Story for Children, sitting on the shelf. I met with colleagues, friends, and speakers. It reminded me of what I love about APT and play therapy.

Highlights of the conference included a plenary speaker, Dr. Eliana Gil who shared her journey to play therapy, the new Leadership Academy Graduates, and the presentation of the Key Awards, including, APT Service Award , Lifetime Achievement Award, Professional Education & Training Award , Public Education & Promotion Award, Research Award, and Student Research Award.


This was my first Association for Play Therapy National Conference, and I am looking forward to attending again in the future.
Sam Feels Better Now! To Be Released!

Sam Feels Better Now! To Be Released!

by | Jun 26, 2008 | Association for Play Therapy, children activity books, children's books, loving healing press, trauma, trauma workbooks


My book, Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children will be released in July 2008. It is illustrated by Kevin Scott Collier, and Published by Loving Healing Press. Therapists will find this a useful tool in therapy with children who are experiencing a crisis, traumatic, or grief situation. This is an interactive picture book for children, ages 4-10. Therapists may use it in office as a series of sessions, or suggest it for parents to use at home with their children to supplement therapy. It provides a step by step foundation for working with children using play, drawing, and other interactive components throughout the story. At the same time, it includes a therapist guide in the back, and resources for further reading. Visit my Writing Page to read more!

Reflections on a Support Group

by | May 31, 2008 | Association for Play Therapy, Child Therapy, children, crisis, domestic violence, group, trauma

One of the most difficult and rewarding things that I experienced as an intern was running a support group for children who have experienced domestic violence. I have had the opportunity now to look back and rethink how the group was structured, and to integrate principles of crisis intervention, play therapy, and group work into a format that I believe is ideal for using support groups with children as a crisis intervention. It is a structured approach, which is in contrast to a traditional child-centered play group. However I used child centered principles in communicating with children during group, such as tracking their behavior, reflecting feelings, setting limits, and providing encouragement. This way of communicating with children, I believe provides a safe, stable environment, and shows caring and empathy for each child.

What is Play Therapy?

by | Apr 25, 2008 | Association for Play Therapy, Child Therapy, children, counseling, Play Therapy

 When adults go to see a counselor or therapist, they talk about their experiences using words. Children, however, sometimes have difficulties verbalizing their feelings and experiences due to their developmental stage.  Play therapy allows children to express their experiences using toys, drawings, stories, and other ways of playing in order to work through their problems and experiences in a more developmental appropriate manner. Often times children mirror what they see in life in their play. If you have children yourself, you may notice this, like when their dolls say and do things the child saw the parents doing, or the child reenacts an event that happened at school. Click on the title to this post and view a short video about play therapy, created by the people at the Association for Play Therapy.