ABSTRACT
In this chapter we look at ways in which play can help children whose emotional difficulties arise out of an unhappy family situation. These children are still living with their families, although for some the family structure may have changed. Separation and divorce, remarriage and cohabitation, childbirth and step-parenting can mean that adults or children have left or been added to some families. The children may be the victims of cycles of damage and deprivation going back over the generations. Some of these children have lacked ‘good enough’ parenting for part or all of their lives. Some have experienced neglect, attachment failure, emotional or physical abuse. Some have observed severe conflicts, verbal and sometimes physical violence, between adults in the family.
