International Handbook of Play Therapy: Advances in Assessment, Theory, Research and Practice

In the past twenty-five years, the practice of play therapy has increased exponentially in America and throughout the world. This handbook brings together an international group of scholars and therapists to address a wide variety of topics relevant to the rapidly expanding field of play therapy. The primary goal of the handbook is to provide play therapists with practical information they can put into immediate use in their clinical work with children and adolescents. Thus the focus is on advances in assessment, theory, research, and practice that have universal appeal, rather than on adaptations of play therapy to specific cultures.

Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S, a nationally renowned child psychologist, is professor emeritus of psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. He is co-founder and director emeritus of the Association for Play Therapy and has written or edited more than sixty-five books on parenting, child psychology, and play therapy, including The Therapeutic Use of Child’s Play, Family Play Therapy, andShort-Term Play Therapy for Children. Schaefer maintains a private practice in child psychotherapy in Hackensack, New Jersey. Akiko J. Ohnogi, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Tokyo, Japan, who specializes in treating children, adolescents, and families, parent education, and multicultural issues. Judy McCormick, MEd, is a registered play therapist-supervisor who is currently working as a play therapist for the Mid-Western Health Board in Limerick, Ireland. She is involved in the supervision and training of play therapists and others interested in play therapy. She is the former secretary of Play Therapy Ireland. Presently, she is involved in research using play therapy in an early intervention program and using Filial Therapy with an Irish population.