Main description:

This book explores the existential themes and challenges present in all therapeutic relationships when working with children. Existential ideas and concepts are a rapidly growing influence on the practice of psychotherapy and yet their application to work with children remains largely unexplored. This book begins to redress this imbalance in a practical and engaging way by presenting an existential perspective on some key themes in practicing psychotherapy with children, including: play, anxiety, guilt, choice, family relationships, language and process. Each chapter is punctuated with engaging vignettes of case material, blending theoretical insight with the realities of practice. Through these narratives readers are challenged to question their own assumptions and beliefs whether they are new to existential psychotherapy or already immersed in its rich philosophical traditions. Children are born into the world without choice and are drawn towards making connections with others, developing self-awareness and personal identity.

Contents:

Preface , Questioning and assumptions , A theory of existential practice with children , The process of child therapy , Play , Family and method , Family and context , Existential psychotherapy and psychoanalysis , Existential phenomenology , Knowing and not knowing: existential perspectives on truth , Language , Authenticity and anxiety , Conclusion