Creative Psychotherapy - Applying the Principles of Neurobiology to Play and Expressive Arts-Based Practice

Jul 31, 2026

Creative Psychotherapy brings together international expertise on how the brain develops and how trauma impacts neurological functioning through play. It explains how to design developmentally appropriate creative counselling interventions across the lifespan, using theory tied to stages of neural development and case-based exemplar plans. The approach is shown as sequentially structured to support healing and development for children, adolescents, and adults with trauma, serving mental health professionals and clinically oriented postgraduate students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages267

Reading Time11 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Overview and Rationale

Neurosequential Development and Trauma Impact

Developmentally Appropriate Creative Interventions

Therapeutic Approach and Application

Creative Media Across Neural Development Stages

Sequential Creative Activities for Healing

Case Studies and Exemplar Intervention Plans

Audience and Use Cases

[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Creative Psychotherapy brings together the expertise of leading authors and clinicians from around the world to synthesize what we understand about how the brain develops, the neurological impact of trauma and the development of play. The authors explain how to use this information to plan developmentally appropriate interventions and guide creative counselling across the lifespan. The book includes a theoretical rationale for various creative media associated with particular stages of neural development and examines how creative approaches can be used with all client groups suffering from trauma. Using case studies and exemplar intervention plans, the book presents ways in which creative activities can be used sequentially to support healing and development in young children, adolescents and adults. Creative Psychotherapy will be of interest to mental health professionals working with children, adolescents and adults, including play and arts therapists, counsellors, family therapists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists and teachers. It will also be a valuable resource for clinically oriented postgraduate students, and therapists who work with victims of interpersonal trauma. is the Course Director for the MA in Creative Psychotherapy and Play Therapy at Ireland’s Children’s Therapy Centre. She is heavily involved in providing play therapy and creative psychotherapy training, both nationally and internationally. She devised‘The Therapeutic Touchstone’, an innovative approach for use when working with vulnerable and dependent clients and, with Justine Howard, co-authored Play Therapy Today: Contemporary practice for individuals, groups and parents. is an Associate Professor at the College of Human and Health Science at Swansea University. She is a Chartered Psychologist and specialist in developmental and therapeutic play. Her consultancy activity has included the delivery of training courses in play for a wide range of professional groups across children’s services. She is internationally recognized as an expert in play and child development, and has published numerous journal articles, book chapters and books in this field. ‘This book is a timely and valuable gift to the field of play and expressive artsbased psychotherapy. Neurosequential development is essential knowledge for therapists who work with individuals across the lifespan and specifically to address concerns arising in childhood. Prendiville and Howard have logically sequenced this volume to incorporate neurobiological principles with targeted sensory interventions for lower brain regions and with creative art, narrative and imaginative play interventions to progress neural integration for higher brain systems. A synaptic tree of therapeutic knowledge.’ ‘Creative Psychotherapy is a fantastic addition to the child therapy literature. This volume offers a wonderfully rich integration of current neurobiological research with various play and expressive therapeutic practices. The worlds of clinical practice and developmental research often exist in parallel. Creative Psychotherapy helps bridge these worlds, to the benefit of practitioners, researchers, and most importantly, the children who we try to understand and help.’ ‘I enjoyed the book immensely. I felt like I walked right into it and couldn’t leave it alone! Some areas I read and re-read several times, then was so intrigued I went to the reference texts to study them. I’m excited to see where this goes!’ [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Applying the principles of neurobiology to play and expressive arts-based practice Edited by Eileen Prendiville and Justine Howard [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RNand by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 selection and e

FAQs

Creative Psychotherapy focuses on which key concepts?

It centers on brain development, the neurological impact of trauma, and the role of play in therapeutic progress across the lifespan.

How does the book guide therapists in planning interventions?

It provides theoretical rationales linked to neural development stages and shows how to create developmentally appropriate creative counselling plans using case studies and exemplar interventions.

Who is the intended audience for Creative Psychotherapy?

Mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and adults—such as play and arts therapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and teachers—plus clinically oriented postgraduate students and therapists supporting victims of interpersonal trauma.

Jul 31, 2026

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