Foreword by Richmond K. Greene. A Note on the Text. Introduction. 1. "If You Turned into a Monster" 2. Symbols and Symbolic Play. 3. From Symbol to Energy. 4. Energy. 5. The Power of No. 6. Falling and Leaping. 7. Interlude with Monsters. 8. Form and Formlessness. 9. Harnessing Chaos: Helping Children with Neurological Disorders. 10. Bacoming the Storm: Using the Energy of Symptoms. 11. Finding the Treasure. 12. Closing Scenes. 13. The Dragon. 14. Mothers and Fathers. Epilogue: In the Footsteps of Pan. References. Recommended Reading. Index.
A look at meaningful self-expression in children who have experienced trauma Playing, moving and drawing impulsively
Dennis McCarthy is a licensed mental health counsellor in New York state and is the director of Metamorfos Institute. He is a psychotherapist working with both children and adults and specializing in sandplay and dream work. Initially trained as a dancer, he weaves the body's innate urge to move into all of his work.
I would recommend If You Turned Into a Monster not only to
therapists who work with children but to teachers and parents. The
book is written with the kind of compassion that makes you want to
read more.
*Counselling Children and Young People*
Dennis McCarthy's beautifully written book, If You Turned Into a
Monster, might seem directed towards professional therapists, but
its truths are universal. The wisdom of Mr. McCarthy, his gentle
empathy, his reflections on myth, psychoanalysis, Bioenergetics,
and his own struggles with childhood grief, will enlighten every
reader. In jargon-free language, it explores the inner world of
children in crisis, and reveals their incredible capacity not only
to survive traumas, but - with the help of an insightful and caring
therapist like Mr. McCarthy - to regain wholeness, reshaping their
inner lives as they draw pictures, tell stories, and build up,
break down, and remake their sand creations. It is thoughtful,
funny, compassionate, filled with insights, and when you finish it,
you will be rewarded with a desire to better understand your own
mysteries, your `monsters', your true treasures of the self.
*J. Scott Morgan, fiction and non-fiction writer*
Supporting traumatised children through play, rather than focusing
predominantly on interpreting and reacting to their behaviour, is
the key tenet of a book by Dennis McCarthy informed by his work as
a therapist with young people.
If you Turned into a Monster: Transformation through Play: A
Body-Centred Approach to Play Therapy, draws on case studies from
his own work. The author argues that games such as asking a child
to "draw a picture of what you would look like if you turned into a
monster," allow for non-verbal communication of the child's mental
state and offer practical therapeutic benefits in their own
right.
*Professional Social Work*
In this book for therapists working with traumatised children,
psychotherapist Dennis McCarthy explains his method of asking
children to draw him a picture of what they would look like if they
turned into a monster. The idea is to invite children to
communicate with him using the non-verbal language of play.
McCarthy uses case studies and children's monster drawings to show
that being allowed to play in the presence of a therapist is the
start of the therapeutic process.
*Children Now Magazine*
I recommend this book not only to therapists who work with children
but especially to parents and teachers... [T]his book pushes past
the complexities of psychological theory and jargon... [I]t is rare
to find a therapist who has the sensitivity and skill to create...a
safe and sacred psychological space...in which children feel free
to allow their monsters into the room... Dennis McCarthy clearly
has this gift...
*from the foreword by Richmond K. Greene, Jungian analyst and
former director of the C.G. Jung Institute in New York City*
With a great deal of love, compassion, and wisdom Dennis McCarthy
chronicles the lives and stories of children and their monsters in
his book on transformation through play. The best stories always
give specific details (this child, this particular situation, this
problem) while also telling the universal stories which are meant
for everyone, everywhere. This is that kind of important book of
life stories.
*Gioia Timpanelli, author of Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of
Sicily (Winner of the National Book Award) and 'Dean of American
story telling'*
I found Dennis McCarthy's description of his energetic work with
children fascinating reading. He has an unusual sensitivity and a
solid comprehension of the emotional conflicts children have. His
therapy is simple but highly effective based as it is on
understanding the child's need to discharge his negative
aggressivity safely.
I recommend this book to parents, teachers and child therapists.
They will enjoy reading it as well as learning from it.
*Dr. Alexander Lowen, creator of Bioenergetic Analysis and author
of The Language of the Body*
A therapist needs to open to the use of a wide variety of
techniques and ideas, cognitive as well as cathartic acting out.
The reader prepared to learn from a wise and seasoned therapist how
to include innovative techniques in his armamentarium of tools to
help release children from their emotional bondages will find
nuggets of treasure as well as pleasure in the therapy stories
recounted by the author.
*PsycCritiques*
The book is a clear exposition of effective treatment and I
recommend it for the fascinating journey through cases with
specific details and impressive results'.
*International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis Journal*
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