Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children

A trusted, comprehensive resource, this volume demonstrates a range of creative approaches for facilitating children's emotional reparation and recovery from trauma. Experts in play, art, music, movement, and drama therapy, as well as bibliotherapy, describe step-by-step strategies for working with children, families, and groups. Rich with case material and artwork, the book is practical and user-friendly. Specific types of stressful experiences discussed include parental loss, child abuse, family violence, bullying, and mass trauma.

New to This Edition:

• Updated and expanded discussions of trauma and of the neurobiological basis for creative interventions.
• Chapters on art therapy and EMDR, body maps and dissociation, sandtray play, resiliency-based movement therapy, work with clay, mindfulness, and stress reduction with music therapy.
• Highlights important developments in knowledge about self-regulation, resilience, and post traumatic growth.

This book will be useful for clinical and school psychologists; art, play, and other creative therapists; child psychiatrists; social workers; counsellors; and any mental health professionals who work with trauma.

This title is part of the Creative Arts and Play Therapy Series, edited by Cathy A. Malchiodi and David A. Crenshaw.

Now in Paperback.

Table of Contents

I. Creative Interventions and Children: Basics of Practice

1. Neurobiology, Creative Interventions, and Childhood Trauma, Cathy A. Malchiodi
2. Ethics, Evidence, Trauma-Informed Practice, and Cultural Sensitivity, Cathy A. Malchiodi

II. Applications with Children and Adolescents

3. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Art Therapy with Traumatized Children, Madoka Takada Urhausen
4. Music and Grief Work with Children and Adolescents, Russell E. Hilliard
5. Art Therapy as an Intervention for Mass Terrorism and Violence, Laura V. Loumeau-May, Ellie Seibel-Nicol, Mary Pellicci Hamilton, & Cathy A. Malchiodi
6. Treating Dissociation in Traumatized Children with Body Maps, Bart Santen
7. Therapeutic Stories and Play in the Sandtray with Traumatized Children: The Moving Stories Method, Susanne Carroll Duffy
8. Dance/Movement Therapy with Refugee and Survivor Children: A Healing Pathway Is a Creative Process, Amber Elizabeth Gray
9. The Clay Field and Developmental Trauma in Children, Cornelia Elbrecht

III. Applications with Families and Groups

10. Creative Crisis Intervention Techniques with Children and Families, Lennis G. Echterling & Anne L. Stewart
11. Vanquishing Monsters: Group Drama Therapy for Treating Trauma, Craig Haen
12. Trauma-Informed Art Therapy and Group Intervention with Children from Violent Homes, Cathy A. Malchiodi

IV. Creative Interventions as Prevention

13. Bullying, Trauma, and Creative Art Interventions: Building Resilience and Supporting Prevention, Margaret M. McGuinness & Kathy J. Schnur
14. Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts Therapy and Mindfulness with Children and Adolescents, Laury Rappaport
15. Sounds of Strength: Music Therapy for Hospitalized Children at Risk for Traumatization, Claire M. Ghetti & Annette M. Whitehead-Pleaux

Appendix: Resources for Work with Traumatized Children

Bibliotherapy Recommendations

Trauma-Related Resources

"Malchiodi and her colleagues understand the needs of traumatized children and how to respond to them. In this book of wide-ranging creative therapeutic interventions, contributors report on techniques grounded in the latest psychophysiological and developmental research. They describe expressive/experiential/body-based creative arts techniques that help traumatized children address and process the effects of their traumatic experiences. Among the many strengths of this book are its focus on flexibly adapting the various strategies to the specific needs and context of each child and its emphasis on strengths and resiliency."
- Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, private practice (retired), Washington, DC; consultant and trainer, trauma psychology and treatment

"Another exceptional book from a highly regarded clinician, author, and speaker! Malchiodi has assembled a group of experts to present the beautifully written and illustrated second edition of this important volume. The book includes cutting-edge creative interventions and updated discussions of practice issues, research, and multicultural applications. Like the first edition, this comprehensive and highly accessible work contains a wealth of practical information and is a 'must read' for both professionals and students to guide their work with children."
- Sue C. Bratton, PhD, LPC-S, RPT-S, Professor and Director, Center for Play Therapy, University of North Texas

"Malchiodi has once again delivered a volume that beautifully blends theory, science, and technique with clinically sound strategies for helping traumatized children. Whether your interest is art, play, sandtray, drama, music, or movement therapy, you will find valuable information and fresh clinical insights to inform your practice. Newer therapists will receive a solid grounding in a trauma-informed approach to expressive therapies, and seasoned therapists will find creative interventions to expand their clinical repertoires. This second edition is a welcome addition to the libraries of those who practice developmentally sensitive trauma work with children."
- Paris Goodyear-Brown, LCSW, RPT-S, Nurture House, Franklin, Tennessee

"As understanding has increased of neurobiology and sensory processes in trauma, so has the need for practitioners to develop skills in the use of creative arts and expressive therapies for treatment. This well-written volume offers both breadth and depth, while providing flexible and developmentally friendly treatment approaches that are client-focused and driven by individual and family needs relating to trauma. Compelling case examples bring these approaches to life. I highly recommend this work to all practitioners who work with children and families living with trauma in its many forms. It’s a wonderful book!"
- Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, President, Family Enhancement and Play Therapy Center, Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania