Caring for Children With Cystic Fibrosis in a Hospital Setting in Australia

In this chapter, Judi Parson introduces us to the varying competing discourses at play and often in opposition within an Australian hospital setting, while highlighting the particular value of play as it is brought into service with a child struggling with cystic fibrosis. We are introduced to an 11-year-old boy along with a range of health care professionals who care for him to demonstrate how the discourse of play is often marginalized in favor of the dominant biomedical discourse, and how the techniques and skills found in humanistic play therapy may be integrated into health care practice either before, during, or after medical procedures.