The written word in psychotherapy with a latency age girl

Play therapy is the treatment of choice with young children, while "talking" therapy is used with older children and adults. There have been reports of written communication being employed in therapy both with children (e.g., diaries and stories) and with adults (e.g., letters and contracts), but little has been reported about the use of the exchange of written words during therapy sessions with "literate" children. The author presents segments of the treatment of a latency age girl to illustrate how the exchange of written language can allow treatment to proceed when children are too distressed to play or to talk at certain points in therapy. Samples of this communication are offered.