REVIEW

Posttraumatic Play in Children:

What Clinicians Need to Know Authored by Eliana Gil, Ph.D., RPT-S 2017: New York, NY: Guilford Press, ISBN: 9781462528820

Posttraumatic Play in Children: What Clinicians Need to Know by Gil (2017) is a wonderful, advanced integration of instruction and example scenarios that illustrate various types and forms of posttraumatic play in children and how to address them. Gil leads the reader through a discussion of the definitions and types of traumas, as well as types of posttraumatic play; interspersed with relevant research and evidence- based practices used in the field. Well-known and lesser-known treatments are discussed, with Gil putting forth a strong argument for including both nondirective and directive approaches together in a single treatment modality.

Gil smoothly negotiates an exploration of her previously published approaches to work with traumatized children and the approaches of others, expounding on her process in formulating a ‘best practice’ model, including how she has used others’ work to inform her own process, as well as chronicling her departures from their works. Gil then provides a

cohesive yet loose structure to use with traumatized children, and the rest of the book includes case scenarios to demonstrate various types of trauma addressed or methods used.

This book is an excellent, easy read, providing a strong foundation for newer therapists while imparting information useful to more experienced therapists, as well. The case scenarios clearly illuminate the points Gil is making without overwhelming readers with graphic details. Nuggets of useful information are interspersed throughout the scenarios, as well. Overall, Gil provides an enticing ‘peek’ into the hope and promise of posttraumatic play in traumatized children.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER Lisa Litz, Ed.S., LMFT, LMHC, NBCC, RPT-S, specializes in child and family work with abused and traumatized children. She lives and works in West Palm Beach, FL.

for Gestalt Therapy with Children & Adolescents West Coast Institute

TRAINING SUPERVISION CERTIFICATION Develove op y ur clin cal s illsski s in wo king w h children & a olles en

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