ABSTRACT

How do children emotionally heal and regain equilibrium after suffering trauma? How do adults understand and help them in a therapeutic relationship? These questions are at the heart of Violet Oaklander's approach to play therapy and her methods for training adults to work with children and adolescents. In this text, Peter Mortola uses qualitative and narrative methods of analysis to document and detail Oaklander's work in a two-week summer training attended by child therapists from around the world.

part |151 pages

Week One

chapter 1|22 pages

Day One: Monday

Building a Relationship

chapter 2|31 pages

Day Two: Tuesday

Making Contact

chapter 3|42 pages

Day Three: Wednesday

Experiencing the Self

chapter 4|38 pages

Day Four: Thursday

Working with Aggressive Energy and Anger

chapter 5|17 pages

Day Five: Friday

The Music Experience

part |177 pages

Week Two

chapter 6|28 pages

Day Six: Monday

Sand Tray Day

chapter 7|33 pages

Day Seven: Tuesday

Stories, Metaphors and Puppets

chapter 8|18 pages

Day Eight: Wednesday

Practicum Day

chapter 9|28 pages

Day Nine: Thursday

Self Nurturing Work

chapter 10|14 pages

Day Ten: Friday

Closing Activities

chapter 11|27 pages

Epilogue

Clay, Culture, and Age: The Oaklander Approach in South Africa

chapter 12|27 pages

Afterword

Background and Methods of the Study