Dr. Nancy Boyd Webb, DSW, LICSW, BCD, RPT-S | ![]() |
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Play Therapy with Children and Adolescents in Crisis |
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This widely used practitioner resource and course text is considered the most comprehensive guide to working with children who have experienced major losses, family upheavals, violence in the school or community, and other traumatic events. Leading experts present a range of play and creative arts therapy techniques in chapters organized around in-depth case examples. Informed by the latest knowledge on crisis intervention and trauma, the book now encompasses work with adolescents as well as younger children. Each chapter concludes with instructive questions for study or reflection.
NEW TO THIS EDITION
Expanded age range: now includes expressive therapy approaches for adolescents. More attention to traumatic stress reactions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); several chapters address complex trauma. Extensively revised with the latest theory, practices, and research; many new authors. Additional topics: parental substance abuse, group work with adolescents, chronic medical conditions, animal-assisted play therapy and courtroom testimony, and more.
This title is part of the Clinical Practice with Children, Adolescents, and Families Series, edited by Nancy Boyd Webb.
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Play Therapy with Children in Crisis |
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"A much-needed and outstanding resource. The contributors clearly describe the most current research findings about trauma and crisis intervention and translate their knowledge into sound practice guidelines using interesting, in-depth case studies. The chapters are rich with therapeutic wisdom and insight. This impressive book will prove invaluable to professionals who work with children in a variety of settings, including mental health agencies, schools, social services, and private practice. Webb is to be commended for bringing together, in one volume, appropriate treatment interventions for the many forms of trauma experienced by children."
—Cindy Miller-Perrin, PhD, Department of Psychology, Pepperdine University
"The third edition of Play Therapy with Children in Crisis has all the hallmarks of a Nancy Boyd Webb book: outstanding contributors; well-organized, integrated chapters; comprehensive coverage; and state-of-the-art knowledge."
—David A. Crenshaw, PhD, private practice, Rhinebeck, New York
"A unique addition to the clinical literature. The contributors provide insightful theoretical and case-based discussions of children struggling with very real—and very contemporary—trauma-related issues. The case transcripts, study questions, current references, and logical, thematic structure make this third edition a valuable resource both for the classroom and for those providing individual, group, and family intervention services."
—Lawrence C. Rubin, PhD, LMHC, RPT-S, Mental Health Counseling Program, St. Thomas University, Miami, Florida
"The scope of this book is enormous! Chapters include practical information regarding the treatment of children who have survived a wide range of traumatic events. Going beyond the basic principles of play therapy, the volume covers such far-reaching topics as differential diagnosis, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children, and the vicarious traumatization experienced by clinicians. For both students and seasoned clinicians, this third edition is sure to provide something helpful and new to all of its readers."
—Janine Shelby, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles
DESCRIPTION
Now in a completely revised and updated third edition, this widely adopted casebook and text presents effective, creative approaches to helping children who have experienced such stressful situations as parental death or divorce, abuse and neglect, violence in the school or community, and natural disasters. While the book retains the focus on in-depth case studies that made prior editions so popular, 17 of the 21 chapters are entirely new, and all chapters reflect the latest knowledge on crisis intervention, trauma, and short-term play therapy. Timely new topics include the crisis of parental military deployment, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on families, immigration-related trauma, terrorism, and disrupted adoption.
KEY FEATURES
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Mass Trauma and Violence |
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"Much still remains to be learned about how mass trauma affects children and families and how
its harmful impact can be reduced. In the absence of decisive evidence, this book fills the gap
by outlining what is currently known and making valuable recommendations for practice.
Given previous terrorist acts, current threats, and the ongoing separation of children from
parents who serve in the military, this book addresses a very timely issue and does so with
clarity and wisdom."
--Arieh Y. Shalev, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel
This book describes a range of effective ways to help children and families cope with major traumatic experiences such as community violence, war, and terrorist attacks. Detailed case examples bring to life the complexities of assessment and intervention with children of different ages and cultural backgrounds, including both survivors of one-time traumatic events and those dealing with ongoing stressors like the military deployment of a parent. Expert contributors provide guidelines for setting up and running school- and clinic-based support groups; conducting brief and longer-term interventions with individuals and families; and promoting healing with art, music, and play. Grounded in the latest knowledge on stress and coping, bereavement, attachment, and risk and resilience, and including much-needed tips for therapist self-care, this is an essential clinical resource and text.
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Helping Bereaved Children |
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"The detailed case descriptions and dialogue offer an unheralded view into the clinical encounter with grieving children....As a social work educator, I will use chapters of this book to prepare students for a career of helping children facing grief."
-Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
"A rich resource for those whose work includes bereaved children."
-Pastoral Sciences
"Readable and accessible....A valuable source of information and inspiration."
-Social Work Today
"Current, scientifically sound, organized for quick reference, and easy to understand."
-The Hospice Journal
"A timely and worthwhile resource....Fulfills the promise of good handbooks: supplying the reader with a ready sampling of nearly every conceivable situation one might encounter in clinical practice."
-Journal of Pediatric Psychology
"Practical, useful, and inspiring."
-American Journal of Family Therapy
"This book should be immensely helpful to practitioners who work with bereaved children and consequently of great benefit to the children themselves."
-Journal of Contemporary Human Services
"An excellent resource and guide for students who are just beginning their career in the field of counseling, as well as a refresher for more seasoned professionals."
-Social Work in Health Care
"This is an essential update and revision for our changing world. Grounded in developmental theory, the book provides detailed and phase-specific guidelines for assessing and helping bereaved children in a variety of contexts. Perhaps the most compelling characteristic of the book is the use of thorough case presentations that illustrate interventions such as Sandplay, art therapy, storytelling, role play, and puppetry, in individual, family, and group modalities."
-M. Carlean Gilbert, DSW, LCSW, CGP, School of Social Work, Loyola University Chicago
"Renowned scholar and author Nancy Boyd Webb's revised handbook is strategically comprehensive in scope and abundant in practice tools. Chapters provide resources for culturally competent, developmentally appropriate child- and family-focused practice."
-Rowena Fong, MSW, EdD, Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor in Services to Children and Families, University of Texas at Austin
"This remarkable book balances theory and practice for any reader who has accepted the challenge of entering the lives of troubled families. It is a wise and reliable guide that covers not only loss in the family, but other types of bereavement as well. Indispensable for therapists and human service providers."
-Robert Kastenbaum, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Gerontology and Communication, Arizona State University
"With strong attention to child development, the quality of the child's relationship to the deceased, and both the supports and challenges posed by family and community, this book is valuable for students, instructors, and experienced clinicians. The contributors address a wide range of circumstances and types of loss that are prevalent in today's diverse practice world. Methods of assessment and intervention are woven throughout. Resources of many kinds are offered, along with guidelines for clinician self-care to limit the secondary impact of doing this difficult work."
-James W. Drisko, PhD, LICSW, Professor and Co-Director of the Doctoral Program, Smith College School for Social Work
"A necessary book for child and adolescent practitioners. Webb has brought together experts who cover a range of classic and cutting-edge topics and who consistently communicate an understanding of the holistic nature of grief. The book is packed with practical resources, including clinical material, sample forms, and tables. This text will be an excellent fit for my graduate-level course on children and death. The range of topics, the case examples, and the discussion questions at the end of each chapter are unique and refreshing elements."
-Heather L. Servaty-Seib, PhD, Counseling Psychology Program, Purdue University College of Education
DESCRIPTION
This acclaimed work presents a range of counseling and therapy approaches for children who have experienced loss. Practitioners and students are given practical strategies for helping preschoolers through adolescents cope with different forms of bereavement, including death in the family, school, or community. Grounded in the latest research on child therapy, bereavement, trauma, and child development, the volume clearly explains the principles that guide interventions. Featuring a wealth of new content, the third edition retains the case-based format and rich descriptions of the helping process that have made the book so popular as a practitioner guide and text.
New to This Edition
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Techniques of Play Theapy A Clinical Demonstration |
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See Nancy Boyd Webb in:
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Running time: 50-minute DVD + 16-page manual, Cat. #5423
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Culturally Diverse Parent-Child and Family Relationships |
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In an increasingly diverse social environment, misunderstandings often arise between practitioners in the helping professions and clients from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Viewing child-related concerns in the context of family and cultural values not only enhances the practitioner's understanding but also increases the likelihood of employing "culturally friendly" methods of helping.
This book investigates the culturally specific beliefs and child-rearing practices of five major racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. Analyses of case vignettes illustrate the book´s dual focus on the practitioners´ own views in addition to those of their culturally diverse clients. Culturally Diverse Parent-Child and Family Relationships includes an overview of a culturally responsive strengths perspective on parent-child relationships and a section on challenges and guidelines for effective engagement and work with culturally diverse families.
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Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions: A Strengths-Based Approach |
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Praise for Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions: A Strengths-Based Approach
"Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditionsprovides a wellspring of knowledge, from the theoretical to the clinical. The many vignettes and transcriptions immeasurably enrich the reader's understanding of the interventions and their broader applicability."—Barbara M. Sourkes, PhDJohn A. Kriewall and Elizabeth A. Haehl Director of Pediatric Palliative CareLucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford
An important and practical guide to providing compassionate care and support to medically compromised children and their families
Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions: A Strengths-Based Approach presents practical guidance on integrating the latest research into evidence-based practice to ensure the best client care. Edited by a top scholar in the field, this essential resource contains contributions from renowned specialists in various helping fields. Utilizing an inter-professional perspective, helping professionals will draw from the experiences and expertise of a wide range of medical professionals, providing a "window" into their roles, responsibilities, and challenges, offering the most effective approaches for working with this special population of children and their families.
Equipping practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to encourage children's resilience and help them build their emotional strengths, this book uses a caring yet authoritative tone and discusses:
With thoughtful coverage of positive helping approaches that encourage family and individual strengths, Helping Children and Adolescents with Chronic and Serious Medical Conditions: A Strengths-Based Approach is an invaluable resource for social workers, teachers, school counselors, and other mental health and medical professionals who work with medically challenged children and adolescents in every setting.
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Working with Traumatized Youth in Child Welfare |
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Review
"This book is a 'must read' for anyone administrating, investigating, monitoring, or caring for youth in the child welfare system. It supplies basic information for students in mental health and other fields who plan to provide care or treatment for this population. Chapters define problems faced by the child welfare system and the youth and family members under its care, review the effects of maltreatment on the developing brain, and detail treatment methods and interventions that may assist youths’ recovery from (often multiple) traumas."--Kathleen Nader, DSW, Austin, Texas
"This refreshing and long-needed book will open new possibilities for interventions with children and families in the child welfare system. It offers a compelling review of the impact of trauma on a child's brain and development. The assessment and intervention methods, resources, and case examples in every chapter brilliantly integrate theory and practice and support the development of skills that are critical for this work. This is a 'must read' for clinicians, child welfare workers, and program managers, and a great text for students preparing for child welfare practice."--Pat Sandau-Beckler, PhD, LCSW, School of Social Work, New Mexico State University
"Nancy Boyd Webb is a nationally known expert in child treatment, and this timely volume will be a welcome contribution for current and future child welfare practitioners. The book guides the reader through the latest theories and research on the association of early life trauma with developmental psychopathology, then presents empirically based treatment strategies for traumatized maltreated youth. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate classrooms in social work, psychology, nursing, special education--wherever concern for the mental health of maltreated children is found."--Martha Morrison Dore, PhD, Adelphi University School of Social Work
Book Description
Until recently, there has not been a great deal of overlap in the child welfare and trauma literatures. This text bridges that divide by integrating perspectives from both fields to help practitioners understand and address the special needs of maltreated children and adolescents and their families. Current knowledge on attachment, trauma, and risk and resilience is clearly explained, including the impact of abuse on the brain. Readers learn how to conduct assessments and implement a range of effective helping strategies with youth in foster care and other settings. Featuring extensive case illustrations, the book gives particular attention to diversity issues and the importance of supporting child and family strengths.
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Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents |
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Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents provides principles for effective use of different arts-based approaches in adolescent group therapy, grounding these principles in neuroscience and group process practice-based evidence. It includes chapters covering each of the main creative arts therapy modalities?art therapy, bibliotherapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, and poetry/expressive writing therapy?written by respected contributors who are expert in the application of these modalities in the context of groups. These methods are uniquely effective for engaging adolescents and addressing many of the developmental, familial, and societal problems that they face. The text offers theory and guiding principle, while also providing a comprehensive resource for group therapists of diverse disciplines who wish to incorporate creative arts-based methods into their practice with teens.
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Contact Dr. Nancy Boyd Webb 978-388-6916 |
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![]() A prolific author and scholar in the areas of child and adolescent therapy, trauma, and bereavement, Dr. Webb has published 15 books since 1991. She is the Editor of a Series for Guilford Press on the topic of Clinical Practice with Children, Adolescents, and Families. This Series was previously titled Social Work Practice with Children and Families. Her expertise in bereavement was recognized through her participation in hospice’s 2000 telethon, hosted by Cokie Roberts and beamed to more than 2100 sites. She has received numerous honors, including the Clinical Practice Award of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the designation of Distinguished Scholar by the National Academies of Practice in Social Work. In 2010 Smith College School of Social Work honored Dr. Webb with its prestigious Day-Garrett award. The New England Association for Play Therapy awarded Dr. Webb with its Distinguished Service Award in 2016. The New York chapter of the Association for Social Work honored Dr. Webb with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. Webb consults on the topics of child and family trauma, bereavement and professional self-care. |
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Keynote Presentations:These generally consist of 1-2 hours with a Power Point lecture followed by questions and discussion. |
Dr. Webb has presented on the following topics over the past 5 years, sometimes as a keynote, other times in a workshop or training format:
Special Topics Can be Arranged. Contact Dr. Webb
Site design: My PC Therapist
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TrainingTypically involves a 6 hour day, and combines lecture [emphasizing detailed case analysis], video demonstrations, role plays and other participatory activities. |
WorkshopsCan be of varying duration from 2 – 3 hours. These often include a ‘hands-on’ experience for participants, in the form of role plays, drawing and writing exercises.Workshops that focus on play therapy offer CE's from the New England Association for Play Therapy, APT Provider #02-123. |
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Dr. Webb has many years experience supervising and teaching others to supervise. She is a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor and holds social work licenses in both New York and Massachusetts. |
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Individual Supervision![]() |
This may be either in-person or by telephone. It usually consists of an in-depth discussion of one or two cases. Other issues that may be relevant can be addressed, such as personal factors related to the work and matters concerning work or staff difficulties. The sessions are totally confidential.
Frequency: Usually every two weeks; other arrangements possible. Location: To be Determined. Close to Newburyport, MA and Seabrook, NH. |
It is essential to plan ahead for everyone’s convenience. Dr. Webb has a very busy writing and travel schedule, but she values the opportunity to interact and share her knowledge with others. |
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Webb’s classic text, now in its fourth edition, continues to increase practitioners’ wisdom about how kids’ lives are affected by trauma and chronic stress, and how to help them and their families.”
— Charles Figley, PhD
DESCRIPTION
A leading course text and practitioner resource for over 20 years—now revised and updated— this book presents developmentally and culturally informed methods for helping children in family, school, and community settings. Nancy Boyd Webb offers vital guidance and tools for practitioners. The text demonstrates research-based strategies for working with victims of maltreatment and trauma as well as children affected by poverty, parental substance abuse, bullying, and other adversities. Vivid case examples illustrate the “whys” and “how-tos” of play and family therapy, group work, and school-based interventions. Student-friendly features include thought-provoking discussion questions and role-play exercises. Reproducible assessment forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8½” x 11” size.
Find full information about this and other titles: www.guilford.com/author/Nancy-Boyd-Webb
New to This Edition