Victims of Ritual Abuse and Child Trafficking: Recognition, Play Therapy, and Symbolic Communication

This course describes ritual abuse and child trafficking and how dissociation-savvy abusers psychologically manipulate victims and their dissociated self-states. Participants will learn: 1) indicators of ritual abuse trauma and dissociation in children’s behavior, play, and art; 2) play therapy techniques, metaphors, and stories to intervene in such trauma with optimal psychological distance; 3) use of protective parents as co-therapists, and 4) legal considerations with this population.