A Guide to Relationship-Oriented Child Therapy: The Art of Listening for Connection

This book introduces a new relationship-oriented approach to child therapy grounded in the idea that positive relationships are essential for children’s mental health and wellbeing. The author emphasises the importance of cultivating the child-therapist bond and working closely with families and teachers to nurture the wellbeing of children. By establishing and maintaining strong connections with children, and by actively including families and teachers in the therapeutic process, child therapists can truly support children to heal and grow.

Presented as a series of fifty suggestions for child therapists, this book is written in a straightforward, direct style and includes real case studies and practical examples that demonstrate how to listen well to children and deepen the therapeutic connection. It also highlights the many benefits of a relationship-oriented approach, including helping children to open up and share their stories, and enabling greater collaboration among therapists, families, and teachers.

Dr Michelle Andrews Luke is an educational and developmental psychologist with more than twenty years of experience listening to children and helping them to have strong and supportive relationships. She teaches graduate courses in counselling skills and working with groups at the University of Melbourne. Michelle lives with her husband and their three children in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia.