Dennis McCarthy

Sue Jennings introduces the concept of 'Neuro-Dramatic-Play', exploring the sensory experiences that take place between mother and child during pregnancy and the first few months after birth. She explains how this interaction is of crucial importance for the infant to develop a healthy brain, strong attachments and future resilience.

Children experience growth and change throughout their lives. This book explains how this reorganising process can be used in play therapy to help children dealing with social, neurological, developmental,ahealth and family issues. Theory and examples are used to show how to apply the practice with a range of clients.

Life's most pivotal experiences, both good and bad, can be truly expressed via the language of the imagination. Through creativity and play, children are free to articulate their emotions indirectly. Here, the contributors describe a wide variety of non-verbal therapeutic techniques, illustrating their descriptions with moving case studies.

Using case studies from his clinical experience and with numerous children's monster drawings, McCarthy lets the meaningful self-expression of the child take centre stage. He demonstrates that being allowed to play, move and draw impulsively and creatively in the supportive presence of the therapist is just the beginning of the therapeutic process.

Contributions from a range of therapeutic disciplines demonstrate deep play's capacity to elicit real change in children and how they think about themselves and the world. Including techniques with deep sandboxes, clay and water, alongside case studies and theoretical grounding, this book establishes a new depth psychology approach for treatment.