What to Do When Children Clam Up in Psychotherapy

Cathy A. Malchiodi, PhD, ATR-BC, LPCC, LPAT, REAT, is a psychologist, expressive arts therapist, and art therapist specializing in trauma recovery. She is the founder and executive director of the Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute, which trains mental health and health care practitioners in medical, educational, and community settings and assists in disaster relief and humanitarian efforts throughout the world. Dr. Malchiodi has given more than 500 presentations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, and has published numerous articles, chapters, and books, including Understanding Children's Drawings and Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children, Second Edition. Dr. Malchiodi has received numerous awards for distinguished service, clinical contributions, and lifetime achievements, including honors from the Kennedy Center and Very Special Arts in Washington, DC. A passionate advocate for the role of the arts in health, she is a contributing writer for PsychologyToday.com.¿ David A. Crenshaw, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, is Clinical Director of the Children's Home of Poughkeepsie, New York, and Adjunct Faculty at Marist College. He has taught graduate courses in play therapy at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University and has published widely on child and adolescent therapy, child abuse and trauma, and resilience in children. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of its Division of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Dr. Crenshaw has received lifetime achievement awards from the New York Association for Play Therapy and the Hudson Valley Psychological Association. He is a past chair of the board of directors of the Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Abuse and a member of the professional advisory board of the Courthouse Dogs Foundation and of the Dutchess County Task Force against Human Trafficking.