Jungian analytical play therapy

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · John Allan, Eric J. Green, J. P. Lilly · 1978

What it is

Source note. Bibliographic details follow the sources listed below: Green's ACA article (VISTAS Online 2005, pp. 75–78); Green's 2011 chapter (Foundations of Play Therapy, 2nd ed., ch. 5, pp. 61–86, from Wiley's contents page); Allan (1988) and Allan & Bertoia (1992), from the publisher's page and…

Format

• The sources cited do not give a single fixed stage model. Below are the process sequence Lilly and Heiko describe and the more precise three-phase course Allan describes for serial drawing. Green's 2011 chapter (Foundations of Play Therapy, 2nd ed., pp. 61–86) is cited from its contents entry only,…
• Format: one or two parent and caregiver meetings, plus a first meeting with the child.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• What it involves: a three-generation family history; developmental, medical, learning, social and emotional history; when and why symptoms occur; trauma and developmental delays, taken "bottom-up" (body and regulation first).
• Source note. Bibliographic details follow the sources listed below: Green's ACA article (VISTAS Online 2005, pp. 75–78); Green's 2011 chapter (Foundations of Play Therapy, 2nd ed., ch. 5, pp. 61–86, from Wiley's contents page); Allan (1988) and Allan & Bertoia (1992), from the publisher's page and a library record; and the origin of the rosebush technique (Oaklander 1978, scripted by Allan & Crandall 1986). No…
• Professional frame. JAPT is not a separately regulated profession. Practitioners are licensed or registered mental health professionals (counsellors, psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists) with further play therapy training. Lilly and Heiko hold the Association for Play Therapy's RPT-S credential (Registered Play Therapist–Supervisor), and APT is the main US credentialing body. In the UK the equivalent…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• brief regression near the end, which is common.
• recurrent trauma nightmares. Consider a trauma-focused referral (see 5.3).
• your own urge to read abuse into symbols. Take that to supervision rather than acting on it.
• acting-out that spills over. In enactment, keep physical contact staged and agreed (see 4.23).
• pressure to interpret pictures or to act as an evaluator in disputes. Decline, and explain the reasons.

Problems the guide addresses

• Stuck in the middle phase (repetitive, destructive play)
• The child wants to stop, or refuses to draw or play
• Overwhelm, flooding and post-traumatic play
• Disclosure, suspected abuse, and over-reading symbols
• Sexualised play or behaviour in session
• Physical aggression and limit testing
• Ruptures with the child
• Non-attendance and caregiver non-engagement
• Caregiver or school pressure for quick results or explanations
• Countertransference and therapist overreach

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.