Book of the Month January 2020 - Theraplay - The Practitioner’s Guide

Theraplay® The Practitioner's Guide by Vivienne Norris and Dafna Lender 
 
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​Anyone interested in Theraplay® will know how difficult it is to find Theraplay® Institute approved information and activities. It can also be a challenge for people who use Theraplay® within their wider practice to get appropriate supervision for the Theraplay aspects of their work. In both areas Norris and Lender’s book is an invaluable resource.

It is a book packed full of reflection, imagination, problem solving and trouble shooting. The case studies are particularly helpful; they feel real, with honest acknowledgement by the therapists of their own countertransference, defences and complex feelings. They also highlight without any blame or shame how difficult it is for some children and parents to adapt to news ways of relating.  
 
One of the complexities of Theraplay® is that it looks incredibly simple in theory but can be remarkably difficult to practice with efficacy. The authors have considered numerous challenges for the newly qualified and perhaps even the more experienced practitioner, from choosing sequences of activities that allow the therapist to stay relaxed while the child remains engaged, to working with complex parents and understanding and supporting children with deeply challenging forms of resistance, anxiety and control. In fact, in many ways, this is a treasure chest of support for anyone working with children and families, even those who are not Theraplay® trained. By that I mean the Theraplay® attitude and perspective provide a great model of engagement and relational connection that has a true attachment-in-action focus .
 
The book packs in a lot of reading, helpfully structured into five sections.
Part 1 covers the overarching principles of Theraplay® and places it firmly within the context of trauma and attachment theory, dyadic developmental psychotherapy, social engagement theory and neurobiological research.

Part 2 is entitled Nuts and Bolts. I found this “troubleshooting” section particularly valuable. It deals with the “lived experience of engaging in Theraplay®”, answering many questions that I’ve never seen addressed anywhere else. It illustrates the real complexities of using the apparently simple activities in depth with traumatised children and their parents. All too often we focus on challenging children and fail to prepare for the parent work. The authors consider the skills needed for parent work and the challenges of engaging complex parents who could (often unconsciously) sabotage work with the child. As it says on the tin – the nuts and bolts!

Part 3: Becoming a Theraplay® practitioner is a much shorter section, obviously of particular interest to anyone consider training in the approach, trainees and new therapists. Again, although clearly focused on Theraplay®, it also addresses many aspects of supervision that would be of interest to therapists of other creative disciplines who work with children and their parents.

Part 4: examples of completed supervision forms looks at the MIM-based assessment form and shows examples of completed supervision forms, plus a final evaluation supervision form, complete with feedback. It is a practical section that should leave you in no doubt about the meticulous detail required in the paperwork. This detail is made possible through the use of video recording sessions and playing them back so that therapist, parent and supervisor can view the detail of interactions, proving yet again the power of the most subtle relational exchanges in creating connection or disconnection.

Part 5 is the resources section. It includes session plans for different types of clients, a guide for parents, including handouts with checklists to help parents see what the four dimensions look like within the parent-child relationship.  It’s also great to see a section on sensory regulation and children’s tolerance of touch.  As you would expect there is an updated list of Theraplay® activities. I had mixed feelings about this section. It was good to see the guidance for different age groups, but I tend to find the description of Theraplay® activities brief and often vague. Also, no group activities are included. These are small quibbles in an otherwise super resource. I have no doubt that this will be the Theraplay® bible for years to come. 

​Sheila Lavery

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