Narrative play therapy

1. Introduction

Version followed: Ann Cattanach's narrative play therapy (UK), as presented in her Jessica Kingsley and Routledge books (Children's Stories in Play Therapy, 1997; The Story So Far, ed., 2002; Introduction to Play Therapy, 2004 per the Routledge listing; Narrative Approaches in Play with Children, 2007; Play Therapy with Abused Children, 2nd ed., 2008), plus the later collection edited by Aideen Taylor de Faoite (Narrative Play Therapy: Theory and Practice, 2011). Only publisher descriptions, catalogue records, contents lists, index terms and one detailed published book review are drawn on; the full method chapters are not. Sources include: the full chapter lists and chapter authors of The Story So Far, Narrative Approaches and the 2011 collection (including its assessment chapter title); and, from a published review of Narrative Approaches, the creation-story starting point, the world-to-history-to-future sequence, the use of pretend stories and myths instead of pressing for real events, and the contents of the attachment, school and "monsters" chapters. Uncertain: Cattanach's step-by-step story-making procedure and wording, session counts, the wording of her parent scripts, and the content of the 2011 assessment procedure. Everything beyond these sources is marked [synthesis] or [uncertain].

Narrative play therapy is a non-directive, play-based way of working with children in which child and therapist make stories together, using toys, small-world figures, sand, role-play, rhymes and told or read stories. Its core idea is that identity is formed by narrating experience, and that children facing difficult life events (fostering and adoption, abuse, illness, bereavement, separation) may need help to form and express their own narratives [source: JKP page, The Story So Far]. Stories that emerge are imaginative, metaphorical and multi-layered, not literal accounts [source: JKP page, The Story So Far]. Change is understood to come from a sensitive adult listening to the child's play within a relationship of trust and care [source: Perlego listing, Introduction to Play Therapy], and from co-constructed stories that let the child communicate difficult experiences and complex feelings [source: Google Books, Taylor de Faoite 2011]. The approach is socially constructionist: childhood and the child's identity are treated as constructed in relationships, culture and talk, not as fixed facts [source: Perlego listing, Introduction to Play Therapy; index terms "social constructionism", "Gergen", "Epston" in Taylor de Faoite 2011].

It is a form of play therapy, not a stand-alone profession. Related tabs: for the craft of telling and composing therapeutic stories see 144 Storytelling therapy; for the non-directive child-centred stance, reflective responses and limit-setting that narrative play therapy shares, see 157 Child-centred play therapy. This tab covers what is specific to narrative play.

Professional frame. Practise this only if you are a trained play therapist or a child psychotherapist, arts therapist or clinical/educational psychologist with additional supervised play therapy training. In the UK the main bodies are the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT, registered play therapist after an accredited postgraduate training) and Play Therapy UK (PTUK); in Ireland, the Irish Association of Play Therapy and Psychotherapy; in the US, the Association for Play Therapy (Registered Play Therapist, RPT) [synthesis; uncertain]. In the UK play therapy is not a statutorily protected title under the HCPC; registers run by the associations (some accredited by the Professional Standards Authority) are the safeguard [uncertain: verify current register status]. Cattanach's own Introduction to Play Therapy has a chapter on training and professional issues and one distinguishing play therapy from therapeutic play [source: Perlego listing]; adults in other roles (teachers, social workers, carers) can use narrative play as therapeutic play, but should not take on trauma work, assessment or disclosure-related work without play therapy training and supervision [synthesis].

2. Framework

The sources do not set out a fixed phase model or session count. They state that Cattanach offered practical ways to begin play therapy, intervention models adapted to the child's needs and to the therapist's work setting, short- and medium-term interventions, and individual, sibling and group formats [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children, 2nd ed.]. The phase structure below is a practical organisation of that material [synthesis].

Phase 0. Referral, assessment and agreement (1 to 3 meetings with adults; 1 to 2 with the child). Goals: understand the child's history and current care situation; identify who holds parental responsibility (for a looked-after child this may be the local authority with or instead of the birth parents); agree goals, frequency, venue, confidentiality limits and how carers will be kept involved; check safeguarding status (open child-protection plan, criminal proceedings, contact arrangements). The 2011 collection has a dedicated chapter, "Assessment, Record Keeping and Evaluation in Narrative Play Therapy" (ch. 3, by Aideen Taylor de Faoite) [source: UBC Press contents page], but its content (what is assessed, which tools, how evaluation is done) is not drawn on [uncertain]. Do not present any assessment step in this tab as Taylor de Faoite's procedure. Move on when consent and the child's assent are in place, the setting is stable enough for weekly attendance, and there is an agreed route for safeguarding concerns [synthesis].

Phase 1. Beginning: the play space and trust (roughly sessions 1 to 4). Goals: the child learns that the room, the time and the therapist are predictable; the boundaries (time, room, safety rules, confidentiality in child's words) are explained; the child explores the materials freely. Cattanach's reviewers note that her later book covers setting up a play environment and toys suited to different ages [source: JKP page reviews, Narrative Approaches]. Move on when the child uses the materials with some freedom and returns to the room without high anxiety [synthesis].

Phase 2. Middle: making and developing stories (most of the work). Goals: stories and play scenes appear, recur and change; the child's themes and metaphors (monsters, creatures, families of animals, rescues, journeys) are developed within the play; the child gains a way to hold and communicate experiences [source: Hachette page, Children's Stories in Play Therapy: stories reveal inner lives and hold experiences; case studies show stories created and developed over time]. Typical themes by life area appear in the 2007 book's chapters: origins ("How did I begin?"), managing past traumas in the present, being in a family, school, and coping with the adult world [source: Google Books contents, Narrative Approaches]. Review with carers every 6 to 8 sessions [synthesis].

Phase 3. Ending (final 3 to 4 sessions, planned in advance). Goals: the child knows how many sessions remain; stories and play are drawn together; the relationship is ended well, which matters especially for children who have lost many carers [synthesis]. Indicators for ending: the agreed goals are largely met in daily life (carers' and school reports), the play has shifted from repeated, stuck or chaotic scenes to stories with movement and resolution, and the child's placement is stable [synthesis].

Format. Weekly individual sessions of about 45 to 50 minutes in the same room at the same time are usual play therapy practice [synthesis]. Short-term pieces of work (for example 8 to 12 sessions) and medium-term work (6 to 12 months) are both described in Cattanach's practice, though exact counts were not found [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children; counts uncertain]. Sibling and group formats exist [same source]. Parallel or joint sessions with carers are used where the work centres on attachment in the family; The Story So Far includes a chapter on attachment in families, and the 2007 book gives sample scripts for parents taking a therapeutic parenting approach [source: JKP pages].

3. Guiding principles

Play is the child's medium of communication. Meet the child in play rather than asking them to talk about events; the therapist learns the child's language, not the reverse [source: Perlego listing, Introduction to Play Therapy; Hachette page, Children's Stories].
Stories are co-constructed. The therapist is an active co-author and audience but the child owns the story; never take over the plot [source: Google Books, Taylor de Faoite 2011; JKP pages].
Equal relationship between narrator and listener. Listen as an interested audience, not as an examiner; this equality is what lets the story unfold and builds trust [source: Hachette page, Children's Stories in Play Therapy].
Stories are metaphorical and multi-layered, not literal reports. Do not translate a story into "what really happened"; respond within the story's world [source: JKP page, The Story So Far].
Real or imagined, a story still tells you about the child. Treat children's stories about real and pretend events as indications of their experiences, ideas and sense of self, held lightly as hypotheses [source: JKP and Google Books pages, Narrative Approaches].
Identity is made through narrative. The work aims to give the child more and better stories about who they are, not a single correct life story [source: JKP page, The Story So Far].
Childhood is socially constructed. Notice the adult stories told about this child ("the bad one", "damaged") and the cultural assumptions in your own view of childhood [source: Perlego listing, Introduction to Play Therapy, ch. 1].
Non-directive and playful. Follow the child's lead; a playful, warm stance is part of the method, not a warm-up [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children, reviewer comment].
Expand creativity. Healing is supported by widening what the child can imagine and make in play [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children].
Safety through distance. Metaphor gives aesthetic distance, letting a child approach painful material without being flooded; protect that distance [source: index term "aesthetic distance", Taylor de Faoite 2011; practical meaning is synthesis].
Fit the model to the child and the setting. Choose length, format and degree of structure according to the child's needs and your agency [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children].
Developmentally pitched play. Use the play types that fit the child's developmental age, including early rhymes, songs and peek-a-boo for children whose early care was disrupted [source: JKP page reviews and Google Books index terms, Narrative Approaches; specific use is synthesis].
Children's rights and the legal frame. Work within the children's rights and welfare legislation of your jurisdiction; Cattanach's 2nd edition was updated for English and Scottish law and guidance [source: Children & Young People Now review].
Cultural stories matter. Traditional tales (Cattanach drew heavily on Scottish ones) and books that mirror the child's life give shared story material; choose material from the child's own cultures too [source: JKP page reviews; Google Books contents ch. 7, Narrative Approaches; last clause synthesis].
Supervision. Regular clinical supervision is part of practice, especially with trauma and safeguarding [source: index term "supervision", Taylor de Faoite 2011; synthesis on frequency].

4. Intervention inventory

The sources confirm the families of technique (co-constructed story-making, toys and small world, sand tray, role-play, rhymes and songs, traditional tales and picture books mirroring the child's life, parent scripts, individual, sibling and group work) but not Cattanach's step-by-step wording. Steps below are therefore practical procedures written for this guide [synthesis] unless a source is given; none of the example language is Cattanach's.

4.1 Setting up the play space and materials

Purpose / when: before the first session and whenever the venue changes. A stable, predictable room is the container for story-making. Reviewers note Cattanach covers play types suited to different ages, suggested toys and materials, and setting up the play environment [source: JKP and UBC Press page reviews, Narrative Approaches]; its chapter 1 discusses the play space, rules and materials in general terms [source: García Mulsa review, Collaborative Practices].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Use the same room each week, private, not overlooked, with a door you can see out of or a glass panel, in line with your agency's lone-working policy. (2) Lay out a consistent core kit: small-world people and families (several ages, skin tones, disabilities), wild and domestic animals including predators, dinosaurs, monsters and fantasy creatures, vehicles, buildings and fences, a sand tray with dry and wet sand, puppets, dressing-up cloths, a doll's house or box house, art materials, a few picture books and a notebook for stories. (3) Keep the layout the same so the child can find things. (4) Remove what you are not willing to have used (for example real knives, lighters, sharp scissors for young children). (5) Clean and check items between children.
Materials safety [synthesis]: small parts only for children past the mouthing stage (choking risk under about 3 years or with developmental delay); non-toxic, washable paints and play dough; check for allergies (latex, food-based dough, gluten); no cords or ribbons long enough to strangle; sand kept clean and changed or sieved, wet sand dried to stop mould; water play supervised with spills dried at once to prevent slips; heavy furniture fixed; first-aid kit and incident log in reach.
Watch for: a child who cannot settle with a full room may need a reduced selection; a child who brings the same few toys each week is giving you a map of their story world.

4.2 Introducing play therapy and the boundaries

Purpose / when: first session, and again briefly when anything changes. Gives the child the frame within which pretend play is safe.
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Tell the child in simple words who you are, why they are coming (agreed beforehand with the carer, so the child hears a consistent account), how long the session is and how many there will be. (2) Explain the few rules: no hurting yourself or me, toys stay in the room unless we agree, we stop at the time. (3) Explain confidentiality in child terms, including the exception. (4) Tell the child they can say no to any game and can stop. (5) Show where things are, then hand over: the child chooses.
Example language (illustrative): "This is a room where you can play and make up stories. Mostly what happens here stays between us. If I'm worried someone isn't safe, I'd need to tell someone whose job is keeping children safe, and I'd tell you first."
Watch for: a child who asks repeatedly what the rules are, or tests them at once, is often checking whether this adult is predictable; answer the same way each time.

4.3 Following the child's free play (non-directive base)

Purpose / when: throughout, and as the default when no story is forming. Cattanach's approach is non-directive and playful [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children, reviewer]. For reflective responses, tracking and limit-setting see 157 Child-centred play therapy.
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Sit at the child's level. (2) Describe what the child is doing and what the characters seem to feel, in the child's own vocabulary. (3) Join the play when invited, taking the role you are given. (4) Notice when a scene is becoming a story (characters, a place, something happening) and gently ask about it (4.4).
Example language (illustrative): "The tiger is climbing up the hill... now he's stopped. I wonder what he's thinking." [synthesis]
Watch for: play that is mainly sorting and lining up may be a child organising a frightening world; do not hurry it into narrative.

4.4 Child-told story-making (the child dictates, the therapist scribes)

Purpose / when: core technique of the middle phase. Stories let the child express thoughts and feelings, reveal their inner life and hold experience, while the therapist acts as an equal listener [source: Hachette page, Children's Stories in Play Therapy]. Toys, objects, sand and water are used to build imagined worlds from which the child's self-narrative starts [source: García Mulsa review of Narrative Approaches]. Recording the child's story in their words and reading it back is widely associated with Cattanach's practice, but neither the publisher pages nor the review describe this procedure, so the steps below are not hers [uncertain].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Invite: offer to make up a story, with toys, sand, a drawing or just words. (2) Ask orienting questions about the story world, not about the child: where it happens, who is in it, what they want, what happens next. (3) Write down the story in the child's exact words, including repetitions and invented words. (4) Read it back aloud and ask if it is right; change it as the child directs. (5) Ask whether it has a title and whether it is finished or will go on next time. (6) Keep the story in the child's folder in the room; agree with the child whether carers may see it.
Example language (illustrative): "Shall we make a story about these creatures? Where are they?" "What happens next?" "I'll write it just how you say it." "Here's what you told me... Is that how it goes?"
Watch for: the same story returning with small changes is the work, not a failure; signs it is working include new characters, a helper appearing, a character who can now say no, or an ending that was not possible before [synthesis].

4.5 Co-constructing and developing the story

Purpose / when: once the child is telling stories and is open to the therapist joining. Narrative play therapy works through co-constructed stories [source: Google Books, Taylor de Faoite 2011].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Ask permission before adding anything ("Can I put something in?"). (2) Offer small additions that open possibilities rather than solve the plot: a hiding place, a messenger, a map, a time of day, a question from another character. (3) Accept rejection immediately. (4) Track which offers the child takes up; they show where the child is ready to go. (5) Alternate turns if the child likes a game structure ("You say a bit, then I say a bit").
Example language (illustrative): "I wonder if anyone hears the little one crying." "Could there be a secret door in this castle, or not?"
Watch for: if you notice you are writing the rescue, stop; a therapist-made happy ending can feel to the child like being told their story was wrong.

4.6 Staying in the metaphor (protecting aesthetic distance)

Purpose / when: whenever play touches painful material. Stories are metaphorical and multi-layered, not literal [source: JKP page, The Story So Far]; aesthetic distance is a key term in the 2011 collection [source: Google Books index].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Speak to and about the characters, not the child ("The rabbit is shaking" rather than "You were scared"). (2) Do not link the story to real events unless the child does so first. (3) If the child steps out of the story into a real account, follow at the child's pace and see 4.17. (4) If the child is flooded (frozen, panicky, dissociating), increase distance: move the scene further away in time or place, add protection, or shift to a soothing activity (4.10).
Example language (illustrative): "That dragon is so big. Does the little horse have anywhere to hide?"
Watch for: too little distance (a child re-enacting distress with no story frame, tearful or shut down) versus too much (play that stays empty and repetitive for many weeks); adjust either way.

4.7 Externalising the problem in play

Purpose / when: when a child or family describes the child as the problem ("he's just angry", "I'm bad"). The 2011 collection draws on social construction and narrative therapy (ch. 1) and has a chapter by Kate Kirk, "Story as an Externalising Process" (ch. 4) [source: UBC Press contents page; Google Books index terms externalisation, Epston]; how Kirk adapts externalising to play is not drawn on [uncertain]. The steps below are a general narrative-therapy adaptation [synthesis].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Invite the child to give the trouble a name and a form (a creature, a weather, a toy). (2) Let the child choose or make a figure for it. (3) Explore in play what the trouble does, when it is strong, when it is weak, who helps against it. (4) Build stories in which the child's figure resists or outwits it. (5) Share the name with carers, with the child's permission, so the family can talk about the trouble rather than the child.
Example language (illustrative): "If the Temper were a creature, what would it look like? When does it sneak up on you?"
Watch for: do not externalise abuse or another person's harmful behaviour as the child's problem; responsibility for harm stays with the adult who caused it.

4.8 Small-world and sand tray story scenes

Purpose / when: for children who find words hard, very young children, and children who think in pictures. Sand tray, toys, creatures and monsters appear among the core terms of both narrative play books [source: Google Books index, Narrative Approaches and Taylor de Faoite 2011].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Offer the tray and shelves of figures. (2) Let the child build a world without commentary. (3) Ask for a tour: who lives here, what is happening, what will happen next. (4) Scribe the story (4.4). (5) Photograph the scene if your agency's consent covers it, and let the child dismantle it or leave it for you to clear, as they prefer.
Example language (illustrative): "Can you give me a tour? Who lives here, and what's happening in this part?" [synthesis]
Watch for: the scene is story material, not a test; do not read it as evidence of specific events (see 4.17). For Jungian sandplay as a separate method, use its own training and tab.

4.9 Role-play and enacted story

Purpose / when: for children who want to be in the story, typically from about age 4, and for older children who prefer drama to toys. Role-play and pretend play development feature in the 2007 book [source: Google Books index terms, Narrative Approaches].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Let the child cast the roles, including yours. (2) Agree a signal for stopping and stepping out ("Freeze!"). (3) Keep the stage area marked (a cloth on the floor) so the difference between pretend and real is visible. (4) Play your role with moderate intensity; never play an abuser, and if the child casts you as a frightening figure, keep it clearly pretend and softer than the child asks. (5) At the end, step out of role together: take off the costume, say your own name, and say one thing about the real day.
Example language (illustrative): "Now I'm the giant... and now the cloak's off, I'm me again."
Watch for: a child who cannot step out of role, or whose excitement escalates past regulation; shorten scenes and use more distance (puppets rather than bodies).

4.10 Early developmental play: rhymes, songs, peek-a-boo and soothing

Purpose / when: for children whose early care was disrupted, younger children, and children with learning or social-understanding difficulties, to build the shared rhythm and attunement that precede story [source: JKP page, Narrative Approaches (client groups); index terms "peek-a-boo", "rhymes", "song", "soothing"]. The book's chapter on being in a family (ch. 4) is reported to use role-play, rhymes, riddles, drawings, relaxation, music and fairy tales with children who have attachment difficulties [source: García Mulsa review]. The step order below is synthesis.
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Offer simple, repetitive games of hiding and finding, nursery rhymes and clapping songs, and lullaby-like soothing. (2) Let the child set the pace and repeat as often as they want. (3) Teach the same rhymes to carers to use at home (see 4.15). (4) Move to short stories when the child enjoys sharing attention.
Example language (illustrative): "Where's Lily gone? ... There she is!" Then: "Shall we do the clapping song again?" [synthesis]
Watch for: physical contact in these games must follow the touch guidance in section 5; never insist on eye contact or touch; pick songs from the child's own languages and cultures where you can.

4.11 Therapist-told traditional tales

Purpose / when: to give a child story material that mirrors their themes at a safe distance (abandonment, monsters, trickery, finding home), or when the child asks you for a story. Cattanach's 2007 book includes a selection of stories, mostly of Scottish origin [source: JKP/UBC Press page review], and its index lists many folk-tale figures (for example the Brownie and the Nuckelavee) [source: Google Books]. A reviewer reports she also uses tales from many cultures to help children reframe experience, for example the Tlingit tale "How Mosquitoes Came to Be", read as showing that a painful experience can end in a bearable shape (the reviewer's paraphrase, not Cattanach's wording) [source: García Mulsa review].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Choose a tale whose shape echoes the child's theme but not the details of their history. (2) Tell rather than read where you can, short enough for the child's attention. (3) Afterwards invite the child's own version or a new ending. (4) Never use the tale as a moral lesson aimed at the child.
Watch for: tales with violent endings can frighten traumatised children; soften or let the child choose the ending. For how to select, adapt and tell therapeutic stories in depth, see 144 Storytelling therapy.

4.12 Picture books and stories that mirror the child's life

Purpose / when: for children who have lived in several families, are adopted or fostered, are being bullied, or have a disability, so that their experience appears in a shared story. A whole chapter of the 2007 book addresses books and stories that mirror the child's life experiences [source: Google Books contents, Narrative Approaches].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Keep a small library of picture books showing many family forms and difficult experiences. (2) Leave them available rather than prescribing them. (3) If the child picks one, read it together and follow their comments. (4) Check with carers before lending books that deal with the child's specific history.
Example language (illustrative): "This book is about a rabbit who lived in two houses. We can read it together if you like, or put it back." [synthesis]
Watch for: a book too close to the child's story can feel exposing; let the child put it away.

4.13 Origin and family stories ("How did I begin?")

Purpose / when: for adopted, fostered and kinship-placed children with gaps or confusion about where they came from and who their family is. The 2007 book has chapters "How Did I Begin?" (ch. 2) and "Making My World: Being in a Family" (ch. 4) [source: UBC Press contents page]. A reviewer reports that Cattanach begins with creation stories: the child is invited to draw or imagine where they came from before birth, which she calls "a sort of being before becoming"; the work then moves from the story of the imagined world to the child's personal and family history, then to the present and a better future [source: García Mulsa review]. The 2011 collection has a chapter on narrative play therapy with adopted children (Carol Platteuw, ch. 10) and one on parental separation or divorce (Sharon Pearce, ch. 7) [source: UBC Press contents page; contents not drawn on].
Steps: (1) Agree with the social worker and carers what the child knows and what is true about their history, so you do not contradict or add facts [synthesis]. (2) Start with a creation story: invite the child to draw, or build with toys, sand and water, a world, then a place or being from before they were born [source: García Mulsa review; wording of the invitation is synthesis]. (3) Over later sessions follow the sequence from that imagined world to the child's own and family history, then to the present and a hoped-for future, letting the child decide how close to real life each story comes [source: same review; pacing is synthesis]. (4) Help the child hold more than one family in one story (a creature with two nests) [synthesis]. (5) Coordinate with any formal life-story work carried out by the social worker rather than doing it in parallel [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "This baby bird had a first nest and now has this nest. What does it remember?"
Watch for: fantasies about birth families are normal story material; do not correct them in play, but share major factual confusions with the team.

4.14 Story work with past trauma in the present

Purpose / when: for children whose past traumas show in present behaviour and fears; a chapter of the 2007 book is titled "Managing Past Traumas in the Present" (ch. 3) [source: UBC Press contents page], and The Story So Far includes "In the Wake of the Monster: When Trauma Strikes" (Alison Kelly) and work around the death of a close adult [source: UBC Press and JKP pages]. A reviewer reports that in trauma work Cattanach uses a pretend story rather than pressing the child to talk about what really happened; her example retells a Scottish myth of young men lost on a frozen lake as a myth [source: García Mulsa review].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Begin only when the child is currently safe and placement is reasonably stable. (2) Let traumatic themes arrive in the child's own time; do not introduce them. (3) Within the story, build in safety, helpers and control before the frightening part (a shield, a hiding place, a protector). (4) Allow the story to be stopped, paused and changed. (5) End each session with a calming activity and a step back into the real room.
Example language (illustrative): "Before the dragon comes, who is going to keep the little bear safe? Remember, you can stop the story any time." [synthesis]
Watch for: post-traumatic play that repeats the same scene with no change and leaves the child more distressed is a sign to add structure, safety and distance, and to review the plan in supervision; consider a trauma-focused treatment (e.g. TF-CBT) alongside or instead if symptoms of PTSD are severe.

4.15 Stories about school and the adult world

Purpose / when: for children struggling with peers, bullying, teachers or confusing adult rules. The 2007 book's chapter "School" (ch. 5) is reported to use playful methods for impulsivity, bullying and friendship, and to teach the structure and rules of the school day; its chapter "Monsters in my World: Coping with the Adult World" (ch. 6) uses pretend play in which monsters stand for powerful adults, alongside folk tales such as Hansel and Gretel [source: UBC Press contents page; García Mulsa review]. The 2011 collection has a chapter on narrative play therapy in the primary school system (Alison Webster, ch. 6) [source: UBC Press contents page; contents not drawn on].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Offer figures that can stand for classrooms, playgrounds and grown-ups. (2) Invite stories about a character who has a hard day, then explore who could help and what the character could say or do. (3) Rehearse in play a short script the child can use (asking for help, walking away). (4) With consent, share helpful phrases with school staff.
Example language (illustrative): "The rabbit had a really hard day at school. Who could help him? What could he say to his teacher?" [synthesis]
Watch for: a story of bullying that sounds like a current, real situation needs real-world action through the school, not just play.

4.16 Parent and carer involvement and therapeutic-parenting scripts

Purpose / when: throughout, and centrally with adopted, fostered and attachment-disrupted children. The 2007 book gives sample scripts for therapists and for parents whose circumstances call for a therapeutic parenting approach [source: UBC Press, JKP and Bookshare pages]; The Story So Far has "Finding the Way Back Home: Children's Stories of Family Attachment" (Sheila Hudd, ch. 7) [source: UBC Press contents page]; the 2011 collection has "Narrative Family Play Therapy: Play as a Context for Family and Child Stories to be Told, Heard and Re-Authored" (Ann Marie John, ch. 9) [source: UBC Press contents page]. The scripts themselves and the family-session procedure are not drawn on; the published review of the 2007 book does not describe them [uncertain]. The steps below are not Cattanach's scripts.
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Meet carers before starting to gather history and agree goals. (2) Agree what will and will not be shared from sessions: themes and progress, not the content of the child's stories without the child's agreement, except for safeguarding. (3) Review every 6 to 8 sessions with carers, and with the social worker for looked-after children. (4) Teach carers simple narrative play at home: bedtime rhymes, short made-up stories about a character like the child, and listening to the child's stories without correcting them. (5) Where attachment is the main concern, consider joint carer-child sessions in which the carer becomes the audience for the child's story.
Example language for carers (illustrative): "You don't need to fix the story. Just be curious: 'And then what happened?'"
Watch for: carers who use stories to question the child about events, or punish story content; coach them, and if a carer is a possible source of harm, do not involve them until safeguarding advice is taken.

4.17 Responding to possible disclosure and safeguarding concerns

Purpose / when: whenever play, story or talk raises concern that a child is being or has been harmed, or is harming others. Play Therapy with Abused Children is set within children's rights and welfare law, and the 2011 collection addresses abuse and sexually harmful behaviour [source: CYP Now review; Google Books index]. The procedure below is current general safeguarding practice [synthesis].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Distinguish story from statement: a metaphorical scene (a monster hurting a bear) is not a disclosure, and stories are not evidence of abuse; do not interpret them as such to others. (2) If the child says something in their own voice about real harm, listen calmly, do not ask leading questions or press for detail, do not promise secrecy, and tell the child what you will do next. (3) Write down as soon as possible the child's exact words, what prompted them, date, time and who was present; separate observation from interpretation. (4) Follow your agency's procedure the same day: designated safeguarding lead, children's social care or police where a child is in immediate danger. (5) Know your jurisdiction: mandatory reporting duties differ. Many US states, all Australian states and territories, and Ireland (mandated persons under the Children First Act 2015) impose legal reporting duties on named professionals; in England, Wales and Scotland duties have mainly rested on statutory guidance and professional codes, and legislation to introduce mandatory reporting has been under discussion [uncertain: check the current law and your contract]. (6) Do not conduct an investigative interview; forensic interviews are for trained police or social work staff. (7) Continue sessions unless advised otherwise, and protect the child's play space from becoming an interview room.
Example language (illustrative): "Thank you for telling me. You haven't done anything wrong. I need to tell someone whose job is to help keep children safe."
Watch for: sexualised play that is frequent, coercive or beyond developmental norms is a safeguarding and assessment matter, not just story material; take advice.

4.18 Sibling and group narrative play

Purpose / when: for sibling groups placed together or apart, and small groups of children with shared experiences. Cattanach describes individual, group and sibling work [source: Hachette page, Play Therapy with Abused Children]; the format details are not drawn on [uncertain].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Assess each child individually first, including whether any sibling has harmed another (if so, do not group them without specialist advice). (2) Keep groups small (2 to 5) with two adults if possible. (3) Use shared story-building (each adds a sentence or a figure) and group-made worlds in the sand. (4) Set rules for turns, touching others' figures and confidentiality within the group. (5) Close each session with a shared ritual.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's build one story together. Everyone adds one sentence. Jade, you start: Once upon a time..." [synthesis]
Watch for: one child dominating the plot or re-enacting family roles harmfully; give structured turns or move to individual work.

4.19 Following themes across sessions and supervision

Purpose / when: between sessions. Cattanach's books trace recurring themes and metaphors and show how stories develop across sessions [source: Hachette page, Children's Stories in Play Therapy]. The 2011 collection treats record keeping and evaluation together with assessment (ch. 3, Taylor de Faoite) and supervision as a narrative process ("Holding and Being Held: The Narrative Thread of Supervision", David Le Vay and Ann Marie John, ch. 5) [source: UBC Press contents page]; their procedures are not drawn on [uncertain].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) After each session record main characters, settings, plot, ending and the child's mood. (2) Keep the child's stories in order. (3) Every few weeks read across them: what has changed, what recurs, which characters gained or lost power. (4) Take these patterns to supervision as hypotheses, not conclusions.
Example language (illustrative): to the child: "Last time your knight was lost in the forest. Do you want to find out what happens to him today, or start a new story?" [synthesis]
Watch for: your own reading of the stories filling the gaps; the child's account of the story outranks yours.

4.20 Planned ending and the child's story collection

Purpose / when: final 3 to 4 sessions [synthesis].
Steps [synthesis]: (1) Count down sessions with the child using a calendar or chart. (2) Offer to look back over the stories together. (3) Ask the child whether they want to take their stories, make a book of them, or leave them with you; agree with carers who will keep them safely. (4) Invite a last story, perhaps about a character going on a journey or saying goodbye. (5) Say goodbye clearly; for children with many past losses, explain why this ending is planned and different.
Example language (illustrative): "We've got three more times together. Shall we look at all the stories you've made?"
Watch for: regression or old behaviours near the end are common and usually pass; an unplanned ending (placement move) still deserves at least one goodbye session, arranged with the social worker.

5. Handling problems

The sources do not include a troubleshooting section; all guidance below is [synthesis] unless a source is named.

Consent, assent and confidentiality. Obtain written consent from whoever holds parental responsibility; for a looked-after child, confirm with the social worker who can consent (local authority, birth parent or both) and record it. Seek the child's assent in age-appropriate words at the start and again if the work changes (adding photographs, group work, carer sessions). An older child who understands the work may be able to consent for themselves (in England and Wales the Gillick-competence test applies) [synthesis; check local law]. A child's clear, sustained refusal to attend should be explored with carers, not overridden by bringing the child in by force.

Age and developmental adaptations. Under about 4: mostly embodied and rhythmic play, rhymes and short sessions (4.10); carers often present. About 4 to 7: small world, sand and simple dictated stories (4.4, 4.8). About 7 to 11: longer stories, role-play, story books, comic strips. 11 and over: offer writing, graphic stories, music or drama alongside toys, and respect embarrassment about "baby" materials. Children with learning or social-understanding difficulties: more structure, repetition, visual timetables and concrete props [source for these client groups: JKP page, Narrative Approaches; ages and adaptations synthesis].

Touch boundaries. The therapist does not initiate touch. If the child seeks touch (sitting on your lap, hugs, holding hands in a rhyme game), respond warmly but briefly, keep it child-led, and redirect to play or to a puppet when it goes beyond a brief, non-intimate contact. Ask before any touch that a game requires ("Is it okay if we clap hands?") and accept no. Physical holding is only for immediate safety, following your agency's policy, and is recorded and reported to carers. Never sexual or genital touch; never tickling games that the child cannot stop. Agree touch norms with carers, and take cultural norms and trauma history into account (some children freeze rather than say no). If a child touches you sexually or initiates sexualised play, stop the action calmly, name the rule without shaming, move to another activity, record it and consult your safeguarding lead.

Using stories as assessment or evidence. Stories and sand scenes reveal something of the child's world [source: JKP page, Narrative Approaches], but they are metaphorical and multi-layered [source: JKP page, The Story So Far]. No validated scoring of narrative play stories is given in the sources [uncertain]. Do not present a story, drawing or scene as evidence that abuse occurred or as a diagnosis; in reports, quote the story, describe the play, and keep interpretation tentative and labelled as such.

Child will not play or tell stories. Reduce demand: play alongside without asking, use simple sorting or building, offer a puppet who "doesn't know any stories" and needs help. Accept silence. Revisit whether the setting, time or adult is the barrier (school sessions just before break, a carer waiting outside who is frightening).

Stuck, repetitive stories. First wait: repetition is often the work. If a scene repeats for many weeks without change and the child seems more distressed after sessions, offer small co-constructed additions (4.5), a helper figure, or a question from a character, and review in supervision whether trauma-specific treatment is needed alongside.

Overwhelm and dysregulation. Signs: freezing, glazed look, panic, frantic play, aggression. Respond by slowing down, lowering your voice, increasing distance in the story (4.6), moving to sensory soothing (sand, water, rhymes), naming the real room and time, and shortening the session if needed. Tell carers in general terms so they can expect an unsettled evening.

Aggressive or destructive play. Violent stories are allowed; hurting people or breaking the room is not. Set the limit in the frame (see 157 Child-centred play therapy for limit-setting), offer a pretend outlet ("The dinosaur can smash the pretend city"), and end the session safely if the child cannot stop.

Non-attendance and carers stopping the work. Review practical barriers (transport, school timetable). Maintain regular carer reviews so carers see progress. If carers end the work early, offer at least one ending session for the child.

Ruptures with the child. A cancelled session, a placement move or a perceived betrayal (for example after a safeguarding report) can feel to the child like another adult letting them down. Name it simply, take responsibility for your part, and let the child show their feelings in play, often through stories of abandonment or betrayal, without defending yourself.

Carers want to know the content of stories, or use them against the child. Explain the confidentiality agreement again; share themes and progress, not transcripts. If carers punish story content or interrogate the child, address it directly and coach them (4.16); if this continues, discuss with the child's social worker.

Legal proceedings. If a child is a witness in a criminal case, check with the police or prosecution about pre-trial therapy guidance in your jurisdiction before beginning trauma-related story work, and keep records factual [synthesis; check local guidance].

Therapist's own reactions. Stories of abuse and loss can stir strong feelings; use supervision and personal therapy. Notice an urge to rescue the child in the story or to make it end happily (4.5).

Sources

Sources:

Sources (continued):

Further reading (full text not drawn on; details from the publisher and catalogue pages above):

Cattanach, A. (1997). Children's Stories in Play Therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Cattanach, A. (ed.) (2002). The Story So Far: Play Therapy Narratives. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Cattanach, A. (2004, per Routledge listing). Introduction to Play Therapy. Routledge.
Cattanach, A. (2007). Narrative Approaches in Play with Children. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Cattanach, A. (2008). Play Therapy with Abused Children (2nd ed.). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Taylor de Faoite, A. (ed.) (2011). Narrative Play Therapy: Theory and Practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Not covered in the sources [uncertain]: Cattanach's own step-by-step story-making procedure and wording (including scribing and reading back), her session counts, the content of her parent scripts, and the content of the assessment, record-keeping and evaluation chapter in the 2011 collection (only its title and author were verified). Google Books search-inside pages for the 2011 book were refused during the re-check. Professional-body, legal and safety guidance in this tab is general current practice [synthesis] and should be checked against your jurisdiction and registering body.

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