Play in Family Therapy, Second Edition PDF
Preview Play in Family Therapy, Second Edition
ebook THE GUILFORD PRESS Play in Family TheraPy Also from Eliana Gil Books Cultural Issues in Play Therapy Eliana Gil and Athena A. Drewes, Editors The Healing Power of Play: Working with Abused Children Eliana Gil Helping Abused and Traumatized Children: Integrating Directive and Nondirective Approaches Eliana Gil Treating Abused Adolescents Eliana Gil Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma: The Power of Play Eliana Gil Working with Children with Sexual Behavior Problems Eliana Gil and Jennifer A. Shaw DVDs Essentials of Play Therapy with Abused Children Eliana Gil Play Therapy for Severe Psychological Trauma Eliana Gil Play in Family Therapy Second edition eliana Gil Foreword by Matthew D. Selekman The Guilford Press new york london © 2015 The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc. 72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012 www.guilford.com All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The author has checked with sources believed to be reliable in her efforts to provide information that is complete and generally in accord with the standards of practice that are accepted at the time of publication. However, in view of the possibility of human error or changes in behavioral, mental health, or medical sciences, neither the author, nor the editor and publisher, nor any other party who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from the use of such information. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained in this book with other sources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gil, Eliana. Play in family therapy / by Eliana Gil. — Second edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4625-1749-7 (hardback : acid-free paper) 1. Family psychotherapy. 2. Play therapy. I. Title. RC488.5.G525 2015 616.89′156—dc23 2014018241 about the author Eliana Gil, PhD, is founding partner in a private group practice, the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, in Fairfax, Virginia, which provides therapy, consulting, and training services. She is also Director of Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy in northern Virginia, where she provides multiple-day trainings in family play therapy and specialized therapy with youth (and their families) who have experienced childhood trauma. Dr. Gil has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment for over 40 years. Since the 1990s she has directed two child sexual abuse treatment programs in northern Virginia (at Inova Kellar Center and Childhelp Children’s Center of Virginia). She is a licensed marriage, family, and child coun- selor; an approved marriage and family therapy supervisor; a registered art therapist; and a registered play therapy supervisor. Dr. Gil also consults and trains across the United States and is an adjunct faculty member in Virginia Tech’s Marriage and Family Therapy Department. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse; she is also a former president of the Association for Play Therapy, which honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Gil is the author of The Healing Power of Play, Treating Abused Ado- lescents, Helping Abused and Traumatized Children, and other acclaimed books and video programs on child abuse and related topics. Many of her books have been translated into other languages, including Span- ish. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dr. Gil is bilingual and bicul- tural. She has four grandchildren under the age of 7. v To my friends and colleagues at the Gil Institute: my partners, Jen and Myriam; our associate partner, Heather; our therapists, Lizzie, Karyn, Sonal, Andrea, Azi, Malvolia, Pat, and Mahogany; and our residents, Jodi, Joseph, Aliya, and Lexie It is a joy to work with like-minded professionals and share a common vision. Creating our work family with honesty and humor has been a source of pride. Knowing that we have each other’s backs provides me with the support necessary to do our challenging work. Foreword When I think of therapeutic artistry with challenging children, ado- lescents, and their families, Eliana Gil, the leading family play ther- apy pioneer, is the name that comes to my mind. The Persian poet Rumi once said, “Out beyond wrongdoing and right-doing there is a field, and I will meet you there.” For decades Gil has urged play ther- apists and family therapists to abandon their polarized positions, to come together to share their expertise with one another, and to find ways to integrate the best elements of their treatment approaches in order to produce an efficient and effective family approach that empowers parents as well as their children. In both her writing and teaching, Gil has consistently demonstrated the benefits of using a family play therapy approach with children and adolescents who have experienced severe trauma. Whether using puppets, storytell- ing, metaphors, visual art methods, or drama techniques and strat- egies, Gil’s innovative family therapy has successfully uncovered long-held secrets that were maintaining family members’ symp- toms, helped heal emotionally wounded children and adolescents, and empowered parents to be more empathically attuned to their children and more motivated to establish stronger relational bonds with them. The second edition of Play in Family Therapy, Gil’s scholarly but practice-oriented book, fills a gap in both the play and family therapy literature. Chapter 1 comprehensively surveys the history of vii viii Foreword bringing play and family therapy together and includes a thought- ful discussion about the rationale for this marriage. Chapter 2 dis- cusses both the advantages of and obstacles to adopting a family play therapy approach. Chapter 3 is an excellent chapter on how therapists can enhance their creative capacities, expand their thera- peutic range, and serve as improvisational catalysts for change with families. For me, however, the real treasure of this book is contained in Chapters 4 to 11, which give readers front-row seats from which they can witness Eliana Gil’s therapeutic, playful invitations and her cli- ents’ receptivity to them as she works with a wide range of child and adolescent difficulties. Readers gain access to her decision making in the therapeutic process, to her great use of metaphor, and to several of her creative play, art, and drama interventions in specific clinical situations with children and adolescents. One of the most innova- tive strategies Gil discusses is that of cultural genograms with fam- ily play. Gil has family members choose miniatures, toys, or other items that best express their thoughts and feelings and that show the influence of family on their cultural identity. Grateful readers will come away from reading the second edi- tion with many pearls of clinical wisdom and a plethora of effective therapeutic tools and strategies. This book is charming, inventive, and joyful. Thank you, Eliana Gil, for your generous gift! Matthew D. SelekMan, MSw Director, Partners for Collaborative Solutions Evanston, Illinois
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