The Healing Path with Children: An Exploration for Parents and Professionals

Elizabeth Levin is a professor of psychology at Laurentian University.

This thought-provoking study of play therapy is divided into two parts.
The two chapters in Part 1 look at children’s needs and cover such
topics as names, prayer, daycare, discipline, touch, and television.
According to Barnes, “we are at war with our children” and need to
heal our relationships with them. His book provides an interesting
discussion of the conditions (e.g., parental narcissism) that have led
to children’s needs being so widely ignored. It also points to the
faulty reasoning that lies behind many commonly recommended parenting
practices.

The 15 chapters in Part 2 examine issues ranging from the history of
play therapy to the value of play. The author offers parents and
professionals suggestions on how to play with children in a healing way.
Several chapters explore specific themes such as sand play and art.
There is also a chapter on becoming a professional play therapist,
although Barnes generally takes an anti-therapy stance.

Barnes questions the scientific credibility of the mental-health
profession yet at the same time endorses spirituality, and prayer as
potential sources of healing. This book is very much informed by its
author’s personal belief system, aspects of which may be best taken
with a grain of salt.