The Gardner Library
Dr. Richard A. Gardner wrote 41 books and more than 200 professional journal articles and book chapters. His contributions to the field of general psychotherapy with children, psychotherapy with children of divorce, and custody evaluations are considered classic works in the field and are cited often in the professional literature and in psychotherapy textbooks.
Dr. Gardner devised a therapeutic technique, mutual story-telling, that is included in child psychiatry curriculums and listed as one of 35 significant events in the history of play therapy, along with contributions from luminaries such as Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, and Jean Piaget. In addition, he originated an entire therapeutic modality with his introduction of the first therapeutic board game for use in psychotherapy with children. The use of such games has since become standard in child psychotherapy with many games following Gardner's lead. One noted expert in psychotherapy called Gardner's creation "one of the most popular therapeutic games available" and a Website for therapeutic resources claimed that, "Many child therapists consider it an indispensable part of their playroom equipment."
Gardner's books and therapeutic games have been translated into nine languages. The American Psychological Association, in addition to citing three of Gardner's books in a highly selective list of references labeled as pertinent to child custody evaluations, honored him by selecting Dr. Gardner as one among only a few professionals included in a series of training videotapes by "distinguished psychotherapists."
When he died, Dr. Gardner left behind a series of instructional videotapes and audiotapes for therapists and counselors, and some for parents and children. His family left the collection to me and I am in the process of having these digitized both to preserve them and ultimately to make them available to people interested in purchasing them. The proceeds will go to promote awareness of parental alienation, Dr. Gardner's central mission in the later part of his illustrious career.
Click here to find a list of Dr. Gardner's publications on parental alienation syndrome.
