Developmental Theory and Play Therapy: Play Therapy: A Psychodynamic Primer for the Treatment of Young Children. By Pamela Meersand and Karen J. Gilmore. Arlington, VA:  American Psychiatric Publishing, 2018,  xvi + 468 pp., $78.00 paperback.

Psychotherapy takes place in the overlap of two areas of playing, that of the patient and that of the therapist,

In Play Therapy: A Psychodynamic Primer for the Treatment of Young Children, Pamela Meersand and Karen Gilmore draw on their decades of clinical practice, supervising, teaching, and writing to provide a twenty-first-century volume that examines the current foundational psychoanalytic principles of play. They consider the developmental arc of play, the central role of play as the primary medium and language of childhood and in treatment, the mutative and growth-promoting aspects of play therapy, and common challenges found in treating children, and finally they offer practical guidance. This primer is an essential read for both child psychotherapists and psychoanalysts beginning practice with young children, as it captures the complex nonlinear ways one needs to think about children, play, and development. It is also a stimulating read for experienced psychoanalysts interested in the innovative conceptual integration of theory and in expanding their understanding of the potential of play and playfulness for development and therapeutic action.

This rich, dense, and ambitious book stands on its own as a comprehensive psychotherapy primer on working with younger children. The authors note that this volume can serve as a companion to their previous book, Normal Child and Adolescent Development: A Psychodynamic