Creative Play with Children at Risk

166 Pages·2017·6.91 MB·English

by  Sue Jennings

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Creative Play
with Children at Risk
The companion volume to the successful Creative Storytelling with Children at Risk, this title is written
for both professionals and parents. Using a practical and hands-on approach, Sue Jennings: clearly
illustrates the importance of play for the developing child and outlines research showing the
consequences of the ‘non-playing’ child; provides the practical ideas for playing with children from
birth onwards and gives clear descriptions of the application of play techniques with children with
special needs – these include children with developmental delay as well as children who have suffered
abuse; draws attention to the application of sensory play and its role in a ‘survival’ approach, and
includes contrasting approaches to play and play therapy; emphasises the importance of ‘preventative
play’ for healthy development.
This second edition is fully updated with the latest good practice in play. Based on an understanding of
‘Neuro-Dramatic-Play’, the book shows that play is an essential part of children’s healthy development
and many children ‘at risk’ are those who are unable to play. It includes work with children with
learning difficulties as well as those with developmental delay.
The book includes current thinking on neuroscience and illustrates the importance of mindfulness in our
work with children.
Topics include:
• creating the safe space
• understanding and working with fear
• understanding and working with anger and rage
• new stories and worksheets
• cross cultural understanding of play
• dressing-up and enactment
• masks and puppets.
The book is written for teachers, parents and therapists, and all those who seek to enhance the lives
of children.
Professor Sue Jennings PhD is a pioneer of Dramatherapy and Neuro-Dramatic-Play in UK and
many countries. She founded the British Association of Dramatherapists and is currently President of
the Romanian Association for Play Therapy and Dramatherapy. Sue has published over 40 books and
continues to practice, train and supervise. She divides her time between UK, Malaysia and Romania.

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Creative Play
with Children at Risk
Second Edition
Sue Jennings
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Second edition published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Sue Jennings
The right of Sue Jennings to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
First edition published by Speechmark Publishing 2005
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 9781909301818 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781315174983 (ebk)
Typeset in Univers Light Condensed
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
Cover image and illustrations by Charlie Meyer
Cover image by Charlotte Meyer
Original drawings for diagrams, story sheets and worksheets by Chloe Gerhardt,
Suzanne Hall and Charlotte Meyer.
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9781909301818
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This book is dedicated with love and respect
to Alison Chown for her innovatory work developing
Play Therapy in the outdoors.

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Contents
Author’s acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Practical play and drama 9
Chapter 2 Play and attachment 21
Chapter 3 Sand play: sensory play and messy play 35
Chapter 4 Movement, dance and games 53
Chapter 5 Projective play and calming methods 59
Chapter 6 Learning to fly and keeping safe 79
Chapter 7 Dramatic play, roles and drama 101
Chapter 8 Masks and puppets 119
Appendix 1 Assessment 145
Appendix 2 Play outdoors 148
Appendix 3 Messy play recipes 149
References and further reading 150
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Author’s acknowledgements
My thanks to Ben and Katie for their helpful ideas and unlimited patience.
And my appreciation to my many Play Therapy colleagues around the world who have inspired me.
Sue Jennings
Glastonbury, Somerset, 2017
viii
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Introduction
Understanding play and drama
This book is about the importance of play and how playing can be helpful, indeed essential, for
children with emotional needs and behavioural struggles. There are many books about play, play work
and play therapy, including Prendiville & Howard (2014), Brown (2008), Sutton-Smith (2001), Jennings
(2011) and Bruner et al (1985). This book includes perspectives from play and drama, attachment,
neuroscience and social anthropology, to give a balanced overview of preventive as well as curative
playful work.
As a Dramatherapist and Play Therapist, I passionately believe that the creative process, through play
and drama, not only accesses and represents the ‘voice of the child’, it also helps children to resolve
their emotional difficulties. Children will also realise their potential through increasing their sense of
self and their self-esteem. This in turn will raise their self-confidence.
Of course, this is not a new concept. As far back as ancient Greece, drama was recognised as having
therapeutic and educational aspects in its capacity to evoke and purge emotions such as pity and fear
through its theatrical portrayal of tragedy (Taplin, 1989).
However, it was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that the therapeutic qualities of
drama within an educational context became officially recognised. Peter Slade (1912–2004), who
created the philosophy and practice of Child Drama, describes how it stemmed from his unhappy
experiences as a child in an English boarding school. He was one of the first people to recognise the
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