Hidden Treasure: A Map to the Child's Inner Self 1st Edition

I adore this book. I read it cover to cover in no time. I marked so many sections and have been reading parts again and again to learn more. It is my favorite new counseling book and a perfect follow-up to "Windows to Our Children". Violet Oakland is such an inspiration. Her writing is excellent. I love the details and stories she shares, as well as her expertise. I will recommend this book to every Play Therapist I know.

This book provided a peek inside the head of a gestalt therapist. It was well written and interesting. I will look for other books by this author.

I loved this book. It is a wonderful balance of theory, play therapy activities, and case studies. The author does a fantastic job of sharing her approach to play therapy in a way that can easily be understood and applied. I have already applied some of these principles in sessions, with amazing results. I highly recommend this book for any play therapist.

Good read

A must have for anyone doing therapy with children. Gestalt therapy techniques that work! Thanks, Violet!

Great book.

The author writes in a straightforward manner and her interventions come off with ease. It matters not the page I open to, there is an intervention or common sense approach to help children become healthy people and enhance their lives. This is a must read for all my counseling students. I will use it just as I do Oaklander's book "Windows to Our Children" with pages marked by sticky notes and corners bent. My clients love the interventions and much as I do! She is awesome!

Most of what's written is from a wide, wide lens on her history with kids and features vague reference to any useful techniques (for that, you need the workbook, which actually offers tons of great play therapy activities, if only snippets). I found this read more like a memoir than an instruction manual, and after reading it cover to cover for my child counseling course, I feel like I could do a book report on who Violet is and how she thinks, but feel no more confident about *how to interact with the child in front of me*. It also desperately needs an update, as it's nearly two decades old and is missing lots of information necessary to identifying with kids today, particularly as they move into puberty and beyond. Some of the language Violet suggests would not be the best way to connect to kids today, and give an authoritarian vibe if not used with the exact right inflection.I will continue to look for books which offer more direct, micro-level focus on play therapy in the modern lens. No counseling technique or modality should be assumed to stand up well after 20 years with no updates, and for as amazing as Violet is and the brilliant accomplishments she's made, I'm surprised this is held up as her best work with no revision.

I absolutely respect Ms. Oaklander's girth of experience and candid way of sharing it through her book. I also own her other book, Windows to Our Children and also strongly recommend that book to any one who works with adolescents and children including teachers, therapists, tutors and education assistants.

I have found this book to be very readable and informative. There is some overlap between chapters as it is a series of articles and pieces written during the 28 years since her last book, but this makes them very readable as stand alone chapters. I will be starting a art therapy placement working with children soon, and imagine I will be back to this book again and again. A great introduction to both children and young people's developmental needs as well as pertinent issues and interesting ways of working with them. It is written from a gestalt therapy influenced perspective, however would be a useful addition to the library of anyone interested in, or working with children (and indeed grown up children!!)

Excellent! A must read! Bursting with excellent ideas and Violet Oaklander's love of children really shines through! Don't miss this!

Great ideas for therapists working with children

Violet Oaklander never fails to impress, she certainly doesn't fail with this book.