Mindfulness-Based Play Therapy

A Transtheoretical and Neurobiological Approach to Psychotherapy with Children and Families

Lynn Louise Wonders

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Psychology
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040314401
• Subtopic: Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychology
• Index: Psychology

Mindfulness-Based Play Therapy is a transtheoretical and neurobiologically informed guide rooted in the belief that the therapeutic alliance is essential to play therapy's effectiveness.

In these pages, clinicians will find the tools they need to help children and families use mindfulness to increase attentional focus and enhance sensory processing, emotion regulation, and reflective awareness. Clinicians will also find a variety of non-directive and directive play-based therapeutic experiences to use in sessions as well as a set of evidence-based practices that supports children with anxiety disorders, trauma, and neurodivergence.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Endorsement Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Foreword by Rosalind Heiko
• Preface: The Inception and Evolution of Mindfulness-based Play Therapy
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• 1 The Origins and True Meaning of Mindfulness
• 2 Mindfulness for Therapists: Enhancing Therapist Well-Being and Therapeutic Effectiveness through Personal Practice
• 3 The Neurobiology of Mindfulness and Play in Child Development
• 4 The Role of Mindfulness in Enhancing Therapeutic Alliance
• 5 Mindfulness in Adlerian Play Therapy
• 6 Mindfulness in Child-Centered Play Therapy
• 7 Mindfulness in Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy
• 8 Mindfulness in Ecosystemic Play Therapy
• 9 Mindfulness in Gestalt Play Therapy
• 10 Mindfulness in Jungian Play Therapy
• 11 Mindfulness in Psychodynamic and Object Relations Play Therapy
• 12 Mindfulness in Developmental and Attachment-based Play Therapy
• 13 Mindfulness-based Prescriptive Play Therapy
• 14 Mindfulness in Working with Children, Parents, and Families
• 15 Mindfulness-based Sensory Exploration in the Playroom
• 16 Mindfulness-Based Games and Activities to Enhance Breath and Body Awareness
• 17 Mindful Consideration of Culture and Neurodivergence in Play Therapy
• 18 Mindful Assessment, Planning, and Documentation in Play Therapy
• 19 Mindful Goodbyes: Closure of the Play Therapy Process and Relationship
• 20 The Transformative Power of Mindfulness in Play Therapy
• Index