Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy

Lawrence C. Rubin, PhD, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S, is a Professor of Counselor Education at St. Thomas University, where he directs the Mental Health Counseling Program, and an Adjunct Professor of Counselor Education at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He maintains a private practice as a psychologist, counselor, and play therapist, specializing in children, teens and families, and is widely published on the subjects of counseling and popular culture. Dr. Rubin is also the editor of Psychotherapy.net.

• About the EditorAbout the ContributorsForeword: Superheroes Matter, Villains Too Josué CardonaIntroduction: Superheroes, Past, Present and FutureLawrence C. Rubin Part I Superheroes, Super Theories 1. Flourishing After the Origin Story: Using Positive Psychology to Explore Well-being in Superheroes and SupervillainsSophia Ansari and Christina M. Scott 2. Alter Egos and Hidden Strengths: The Powers of Superheroes in Child-Centered Play TherapyLaTrice L. Dowtin 3. Control, Corruption, and Destruction, Oh My! The Role of Villains in Experiential Play Therapy®Justin D. Kruse and Joyce Arendt 4. The Healing Power of Superhero Stories: Bibliotherapy and Comic BooksYoav Cohen-Manor Part II Using Heroes and Superheroes to Treat Specific Disorders 5. I Like Them Because They Are Fast and Strong: The Use of Superheroes in Play Therapy with a Latency-Age Boy with Developmental Coordination DisorderAimee Loth Rozum 6. Using Spidey Senses During the Storm of AnxietyJanina Scarlet 7. Superhero or Villain? Merging Play Therapy with CBT for Children with AutismRoz Casey 8. Superheroes and Villains in the Treatment of Substance Use DisorderMichael Smith and Carol Kirby Part III Strength in Numbers: Superhero Teams 9. I Can Be a Super Friend! Using Scripted Story to Promote Social Emotional Skills for Young Children with Problem BehaviorsJudith Lester 10. Stronger Together: The Family as a Super Hero TeamSteve Kuniak 11. El Diablo: What His Role in the Suicide Squad Teaches Children about Emotion Regulation and the Power of ConnectionRachel Hutnick 12. Using the Avengers to Influence the Self-Actualization Process for ChildrenBrenna Hicks Part IV Villains Rise to the Challenge of Helping 13. No Joking Matter—Villains are People, Too: Working with the School BullyMeredith Nealy Starling 14. Brain Food: Integrating IPNB & Zombies with Diverse PopulationsRobyn Joy Park 15. How Secrets Influenced Relationships for Harry Potter Heroes and Villains: Parallels in Contextual Family TherapySarah D. Stauffer and April D. Pachuta Part V Superheroes at the Intersection 16. Female Superheroes: Raising a New Generation of Girls and BoysLara Taylor Kester 17. Beyond Canon: Therapeutic Fanfiction and the Queer Hero’s JourneyLarisa A. Garski and Justine Mastin 18. The Black Panther Lives: Marveling at the Internal Working Models of Self in Young Black Children Through PlayLaTrice L. Dowtin and Mawule A. Sevon 19. Un-Masking the Alter Ego: Fear and Freedom in the Affirmation of the Inner HeroKory MartinAfterwordLawrence C. RubinIndex

"Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy will be a welcome addition to any child or family therapist’s professional bookshelf. Editor Larry Rubin and his expert coauthors provide a how-to for applying a broad range of today’s colorful and complex characters to the demands of our increasingly diverse clinical caseloads. Just as importantly, the chapters explain how to integrate superhero mythology with contemporary, evidence-based, gold-standard psychotherapeutic approaches like CBT, behavioral treatment, and positive psychology."—Alan M. "Woody" Schwitzer, PhD, licensed psychologist and professor of counseling at Old Dominion University"Dr. Rubin has provided us with a marvelous compendium of timely, diverse, and powerful therapeutic interventions. Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy is an essential resource for mental health professionals working with young—as well as not so young—clients for whom superheroes and villains are an integral part of their personal mythology. As clinicians it is imperative that we genuinely understand the personal mythology that our clients present to us via their play, their words, and their actions, as that is what opens the window into their world and allows us to join them on their journey. What an amazing gift to us all!"—Loretta Gallo-Lopez, LMHC, RPT-S, RDT-BCT, clinical director of Focus Academy and clinician in private practice "Once again, Larry Rubin has put together a powerful group of authors that provide a fresh and enthusiastic therapeutic approach coupled with relevant case studies that offer effective techniques for use of a medium that is relatable to all humans, especially young people. Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy is a valuable therapeutic tool that no practitioner working with young people should be without!"—Kevin B. Hull, PhD, core faculty member in counselor education at Liberty University and clinician in private practice