Nature-Based Play and Expressive Therapies

Janet A. Courtney, PhD, RPT-S is founder of FirstPlay® Therapy and author of Healing Child and Family Trauma Through Expressive and Play Therapies, Infant Play Therapy, and Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy. Jamie Lynn Langley, LCSW, RPT-S maintains a private practice and is teaching faculty at Middle Tennessee State University. She is president of the Tennessee Association for Play Therapy and provides play therapy training and supervision.Lynn Louise Wonders, LPC, RPT-S is a child and family counselor, professional trainer, consultant, and author of When Parents Are at War: A Child Therapist's Guide to Navigating High Conflict Divorce and the Miss Piper's Playroom series of therapeutic children’s books.Rosalind Heiko, PhD, ISST, RPT-S is a sandplay therapist, founding board member of the World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals and author of A Therapist’s Guide to Mapping the Girl Heroine’s Journey in Sandplay.Rose LaPiere, LPC, RPT-S, ACS is a trauma therapist and is past president of NJCA-Creativity Division and currently serving on the board for the World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals.

"This book is a nourishing banquet of play and healing. It offers great resources for those who connect children, families, and communities to the natural world." — Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, Vitamin N, and Our Wild Calling"Brilliant! Blending the powers of play and expressive therapies with the robust healing of the natural world is a groundbreaking contribution! Highly recommended!" — David A. Crenshaw, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, author and board-certified clinical psychologist "Ready for an adventure? Nature-Based Play and Expressive Therapies guides you through the rationale, explores the research base for nature play, and reveals vital cultural considerations to meaningfully integrate the wisdom of the natural world into your practice. Offering abundant and detailed case studies and compelling interventions, the authors walk readers through a verdant landscape of techniques and models of using nature to nurture healing and growth. In addition, authors describe both individual and family interventions, address nature-based play therapy in urban environments and discuss how to bring nature into the therapy room. Readers of this inspiring anthology are invited into the woods to explore relationships, process trauma, and promote emotional well-being with nature as their co-therapist!" — Anne Stewart, PhD, professor of graduate psychology at James Madison University and registered play therapist supervisor

• Part I: Essential Nature Foundations1. An Introduction to the Emerging Practice of Nature-Based Play and Expressive Therapies Janet A. Courtney and Jamie Lynn Langley 2. "Not Just A Walk in the Park: Complex Layers of Integrating Nature into Play Therapy Practice"Judi A. Parson and Megan Ellard 3. Creation of Safe Space for Transformation and Healing: The Chrysalis Model of Intentional Design for Healing GardensAngela M. CavettPart II: Cultural Considerations4. Let's Go Outside: Nature-Based Play Therapy through the Lens of Cultural Humility Meyleen Velasquez 5. Sacred Ground: The Cultural Implication of Nature-Based Therapy with Young Children and the Intersection of Culture Harleen HutchinsonPart III: Healing Nature-based Trauma Therapies 6. The Nature of TraumaPlay®: Incorporating Nature into the Seven Key Components Paris Goodyear-Brown7. Using Nature to Create Safety for Medical Trauma IntegrationRose Lapiere and Lisa Dion 8. The Integration of Nature-Based Play and EMDR Therapies in the Aftermath of TraumaJackie FlynnPart IV: Nature Play Therapy Models and Other Individual Therapeutic Applications9. Cultivating Mindfulness Through Use of Nature in Play TherapyLynn Louise Wonders10. Nature-Based Child-Centered Play Therapy: Taking the Playroom OutsideJacqueline M. Swank and Sang Min Shin11. Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning for Children: Why Horses?Susan JungPart V: Nature-Based Family Interventions 12. Tiny Hearts and Hands: Nature Sensory Play Promotes Infant Mental HealthJanet A. Courtney and Ashley S. Lingerfelt 13. Nature Play Therapy as a Healing Way for Children, Teens, and Families: Incorporating Nature with Play and Expressive TherapiesJamie Lynn Langley14. Using Nature-based Interventions in Family Play Therapy Jennifer Taylor and Bree ConklinPart VI: Nature-based Storytelling Interventions 15. Into the Great Forest: Fairy-Tale Themes of the Wild Take Shape in SandplayRosalind Heiko 16. The Wisdom of Nature: StoryPlay®, Connecting Nature’s Gifts of Thriving and Resiliency to PlayDanielle Woods and Joyce C. Mills17. Story Stone Play: Embodied Imagination in Virtual Therapy and BeyondCyndera Quackenbush and Janet CourtneyPart VII: Closing Activities Closing Considerations: Nature Appreciation and GratitudeJamie Lynn Langley and Janet A. Courtney Index