This document is a class presentation designed to present a history of child abuse and interventions for the beginning play therapist. Attempts to understand child behavior are traced back to their roots in the fields of mental retardation and special education as early as 1799 and followed through the mental health and child guidance movements of the early 20th century, the creation of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1871, the emphasis on child protection during the 1909 White House Conference on Children, the enactment of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, and the creation of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. A number of factors that may mediate the impact of abuse on children are discussed and symptoms exhibited by children who have been victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, or ritual abuse are delineated. Nondirective play therapy is recommended as a counseling technique in working with these children. Therapists are encouraged to: (1) realistically remove from the child the responsibility and guilt of being victimized; (2) create an atmosphere where the child can feel safe and explore what is therapeutic for the child; and (3) help the child to develop a realistic plan to avoid future victimization. (NB)