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Ali Chown's Books of Course!

Ali Chown

Obviously we are going to recommend Ali’s books! Still the most comprehensive guide to actually setting yourself up for work outdoors.




"A Practical Guide to Play Therapy in the Outdoors responds to the significant and growing interest in the play therapy community of working in nature. Alison Chown provides practical ideas about why we might decide to take play therapy practice into outdoor settings and how we might do this safely and ethically.


This book discusses how nature provides a second intermediate playground and can be seen as a co-therapist in play therapy. It explores the relevance of different environments to the play therapy process by considering the elements of earth, air, fire, water and wood. It looks at the way we can connect with nature to find a sense of place and details some activities to do with children in play therapy to get started.

The book provides an important guide for the practitioner and talks them through the crucial guidelines that are necessary for outdoor play therapy and gives a philosophical perspective to working in nature. It will be engaging and essential reading for play therapists in training and practice."


This is Ali’s first book which gives a great theoretical basis for working therapeutically outdoors.


"Championing the therapeutic power of nature, this book explores why outdoor play therapy offers children more than being confined to a playroom and how practice can be moved into the natural environment in a safe and ethical way.


By using outdoor environments, the traditional dyadic relationship between the therapist and the child becomes a triadic one in which the therapeutic process is enhanced and the environment for the play therapy is shared and therefore more 'democratic'. The child can develop a lifelong therapeutic attachment to the 'nature mother' which supports the development of the body self and a growing recognition of our interdependence with nature. The author explores how this is achievable in practice and the benefits to children with a wide range of needs including profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), complex social, emotional and behavioural problems (SEBD) and attachment issues.


Synthesising traditions of using outdoor spaces in a therapeutic context with approaches from educational perspectives, this book offers a theoretically-sound and practical framework for taking play therapy into natural environments."



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