Janet A. Courtney PhD - Healing Child and Family Trauma through Expressive and Play Therapies: Art, Nature, Storytelling, Body & Mindfulness

ADVANCE PRAISE

Dr. Courtney is a respected colleague with substantive experience working with young children and families. In this book she highlights a broad range of topics that together provide the foundation for offering concrete, kind, and trauma-informed help to children and families. She presents a truly integrated approach that combines contemporary knowledge about neuroscience, the brain, the bodymind connection, and the person of the therapist. Science currently points to treatment of trauma to include humanistic approaches that are expressive, multi-modal, creative, sensory, and promote the bodymind connection. The chapters reveal how processing and contemplating art and dreams, encouraging journaling, family play, yoga, neurofeedback, and other sensory techniques such as sound and movement, can produce self-regulation and a sense of release, communication, and competence. Dr. Courtney also discusses the history of touch in clinical practice, and you literally feel her passion about incorporating safe touch with parents and children in her attachment-based model called FirstPlay.

Eliana Gil , Ph.D., RPT-S, ATR, Senior Clinical and Research Consultant, Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, LLC, Fairfax, VA

Rich in theory, techniques, case examples, and research findings, this volume is an excellent resource for both beginning and experienced therapists for expanding their skills in working with infants, children, adolescents, and families. Highly recommended!

Charles E. Schaefer , Ph.D., RPT-S., co-founder and Director Emeritus of the Association for Play Therapy

Organized around the humanistic perspective, Healing Child and Family Trauma Through Expressive and Play Therapies begins with a discussion of the theoretical landscape to set the stage for reviewing clinical applications of expressive arts and play therapies to assess and heal child and family trauma. Each chapter engages readers by incorporating numerous activities and case examples. This book is a must-read for novice and experienced practitioners working with the traumatized child and their family.

Susan W. Gray , MBA, Ph.D., Ed.D., LCSW, University Distinguished Professor of Social Work EmeritaBarry University, author, and recipient of the National Association of Social Work Lifetime Achievement Award

A NORTON PROFESSIONAL BOOK

HEALING CHILD AND
FAMILY TRAUMA
THROUGH EXPRESSIVE &
PLAY THERAPIES

ART, NATURE, BODY, STORYTELLING, AND MINDFULNESS

JANET A. COURTNEY

Note to Readers: Standards of clinical practice and protocol change over time, and no technique or recommendation is guaranteed to be safe or effective in all circumstances. This volume is intended as a general information resource for professionals practicing in the field of psychotherapy and mental health; it is not a substitute for appropriate training, peer review, and/or clinical supervision. Neither the publisher nor the author(s) can guarantee the complete accuracy, efficacy, or appropriateness of any particular recommendation in eve ry respect.

Copyright 2020 by Janet A. Courtney

All rights reserved
First Edition

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Cover photos Blend Images / Alamy Stock Photo / Alena Ozerova
Production manager: Katelyn MacKenzie

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names: Courtney, Janet A., author.

Title: Healing child and family trauma through expressive and play therapies : art, nature, storytelling, body, & mindfulness / Janet A. Courtney.

Description: First edition. | New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2020] | A Norton professional book. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019030138 | ISBN 9780393713756 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780393713763 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Art therapy for children. | Psychic trauma in childrenTreatment. | Family psychotherapy.

Classification: LCC RJ505.A7 C68 2020 | DDC 616.891656dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030138

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For Ezra, Jacob, Abigail, and Sophia, my dear grandchildren,

who make my heart melt at just the word Mimi.

And

To all the children in this world who constantly remind us grown-ups that
imagination, play, and creativity are three of lifes most valuable gifts.

Contents

I feel so fortunate to have so many supportive and caring people in my life. I am thankful to my dear loving husband, Bob Nolan, my best friend, for all his patience and support, and who reminds me of the importance of balance in my life. My late father, Richard C. Courtney, who sparked my creative spirit and instilled my desire to learn; and who did not answer many of my questions, but instead prodded me to Look it up in the encyclopedia! Warm hugs to my mothera natural born play therapistmy brother, Allen, and sister, Carol, my sons, Jesse and Austin, and daughter-in-law, Stephanie for their love and support and being my cheerleaders through this process. My four grandchildren bring me so much joy as we play and giggle in some good old-timey games of Old Maid, hide-and-go-seek, or storytelling. My deepest heartfelt gratitude to Prem Rawat, founder of the Prem Rawat Foundation, for his vital humanitarian and peace education efforts throughout the world.

The late Dr. Viola Brody, my mentor and author of The Dialogue of Touch , was instrumental in helping me to understand the significance of caring touch and first-play experiences to lifelong healthy attachments. Her work supports much of the foundational basis for several of the chapters in this book. I have a heart full of gratitude to Dr. Joyce Mills for all her encouragement, and who taught me about the power of story in the healing process. I am deeply thankful to Dr. Eliana Gil for all her support and care, and who I look up to as an esteemed role model. It has been an honor to serve in leadership positions for the Association for Play Therapy and I am grateful to CEO, Kathy Lebby, and all the staff at APT for their dedication to the field of play therapy. I am especially thankful to Dr. Susan W. Gray, my former Barry University Dissertation Chair, and Dr. Nancy Boyd Webb, a valuable member of my dissertation committee. Dr. Phyllis Scott, Dean of the School of Work at Barry University, and the Barry faculty share my commitment to improving the lives of children.

I am grateful to Deborah Malmud, Vice President at Norton, who initially reached out to me to consider writing a book on this topic. I am deeply thankful to her skilled staff, Sara McBride and Mariah Eppes, as well as my copyeditors Bill Bowers and Julie HawkOwl, whose expert attention to detail and editing suggestions made this book much clearer and grammatically correct. I am honored to be connected to this community of professionals dedicated to the highest standards of authorship.