The Handbook of Jungian Play Therapy with Children and Adolescents

Demystifying Jungian play therapy for non-Jungian therapists interested in enhancing their clinical repertoire.

Child and family psychotherapist Eric J. Green draws on years of clinical experience to explain his original model of Jungian play therapy. The empathic techniques he illuminates in The Handbook of Jungian Play Therapy with Children and Adolescents can effectively treat children who are traumatized by abuse, natural disasters, and other losses, as well as children who have attention deficit and autism spectrum disorders.

The overarching goal of Green’s Jungian play therapy model is to help children and adolescents become psychologically whole individuals. Toward that end, therapists encourage children to engage in sandplay, spontaneous drawing, and other expressive arts. Green demonstrates how therapists can create an atmosphere of warmth and psychological safety by observing the child’s play without judgment and, through the therapeutic relationship, help children learn to regulate their impulses and regain emotional equilibrium.

Designed for master’s level and doctoral students, as well as school counselors, play therapists, and private practitioners, the book covers the theoretical underpinnings of "depth psychology" while highlighting easy-to-understand case studies from Green’s own practice to illustrate Jungian play therapy applications at work.