#16 What are monsters for kids with play therapist Dennis McCarthy

Children come to therapy with monstrous feelings - monstrous grief, monstrous rage, and longing. I talk to Dennis McCarthy, dance and play therapist about how the stories of children, and their monstrous feelings are transformed through play.

These monstrous feelings are unacceptable, unfaceable to themselves, as well as to the world around them. McCarthy invites children (and adults) to draw themselves as a monster which helps legitimise their feelings, and creates a dialogue between therapist, child, and monster which takes them into a cave 'where the wild things are', a place where words are often not needed in order to understand the child's world.

He talks about why our task is not to translate but to accept what children discover through their drawings, and play, because this richness exists in its allusion to, its insinuation which children instinctively understand.

Essential listening as an introduction to McCarthy's trailblazing work, and his upcoming webinar training on April 20th

For more information on Dennis McCarthy visit https://www.metamorfosinstitute.com/about

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If you are supporting a bereaved child, or know someone who is, you can purchase my book Helping Children Cope with Loss and Change.

www.amandaseyderhelm.com

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