Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce

I highly recommend this book as a clinician who often works with children in the middle of high conflict divorce. Like Lowenstein's other books, this title offers a plethora of activities to support divorce issues and subsequent emotions/challenges. What I particularly liked about this book was the concrete ways it helped the clinician remain neutral and child-centric throughout the whole process, something that is often tested in this type of work. The template to create a custody/access dispute contract with parents was SO helpful in setting up healthy professional boundaries and maintaining a good therapeutic relationship with the child. I also really liked the "Letters to Mom and Dad" activity as many children were able to express feelings more openly in this format versus verbal conversation in the playroom. Such a valuable resource!

Great, practical suggestions. I am a parent looking for resources to support my child and I found this to be helpful.

This book is a wonderful tool for therapeutic use! It is filled with creative and engaging ideas to help children dealing with divorce. The activities can be used in a variety of settings! There is a curriculum that can be used in therapy or support groups as well as a chapter for use with family therapy. There is a handout included in the book that will provide parents with tips to help support their child(ren) in the divorce/separation process. There is a variety of topics such as parental alienation and the impact of divorce in various stages. The Going Back and Forth Between Homes Air Hockey Game, The Feelings Tic-Tac-Toe Game and Basketball: A Game About Divorce are some of my personal favorites in engaging youth and helping them process. I find this book to be an invaluable resource and would highly recommend it for therapists, counselors, support group faciliators, etc.Other books I recommend by the same author: Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children

This is probably my most used, and most favorite "go to" when I am working with children of divorce, or divorcing families. It is an excellent resource to help guide children through some of the toughest times they will have during this difficult transition and adjustment. Liana's compassion for understanding a child's broken heart comes through in the thoughtful and compassionate exercises and techniques. It can be used to guide a child straight through the book, from beginning to end, or it is can be used to choose specific techniques as one goes along. As with Liana's other books, this is a must for the counseling office. But it won't stay on the bookshelf! Mine stays on my desktop so it is quickly accessible!

This book includes interventions to build rapport with children, to address divorce-specific problems, to address emotional reactions and to encourage positive coping. I have used techniques from this book innumerable times. They engage children and help them learn to cope with the changes that are happening in their lives. One thing that sets this book apart from other technique-based books is that it also includes information to provide to parents about how to best support their children as well as theoretical information for the practitioner about the impact of divorce on the child. This book has been an invaluable addition to my professional library.I sometimes use these techniques in conjunction with reading stories with children about divorce, such as: Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story For Little Kids About Divorce I Don't Want to Talk About It

I have suggested that the therapists that I supervise add this great book to their collection. I am also using some of the hand-outs (with the author's permission) in a training that I am preparing for our entire staff. This book explains parameters and guidelines for practitioners to follow when working with children of divorce. In addition, Lowenstein provides a theoretical overview of the stages of divorce, how divorce impacts children and the psychological tasks of children when adjusting to their parents' divorce. The interaction activities to use with children are outright FANTASTIC! There are so many great ideas and so many positive suggestions to help children through their painful experience. I recommend this book and this author wholeheartedly. I suggest you also check out her Web site at: [...] I get the author's monthly newsletter with helpful ideas!

Like other books by Liana Lowenstein, this book is full of ideas for therapeutic interventions with kids, groups, and families. I turn to her books often as I plan for sessions. I find that I frequently adapt an idea from the book to meet the specific needs of a child. My own creativity is inspired when perusing these interventions. There is some redundancy between books which is disappointing.Other books I recommend:  Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques , Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth , and  Paper Dolls and Paper Airplanes: Therapeutic Exercises for Sexually Traumatized Children .

This book is comprehensive, user-friendly, and a great asset to my work as a graduate school professor for therapists and as a clinician. It includes a clear and detailed introduction to divorce and how it can impact children and families. The interventions are thoughtful and effective. I love Liana Lowenstein's books and consider them an essential part of my counseling library

An excellent resource

There are so many helpful activities in this book. Sometimes I buy books like this and only find a couple of good exercises. I would say the vast majority in this book are excellent