After an introduction which briefly discusses emotional, therapeutic, phenomenological, cognitive, and developmental perspectives on play, this volume presents the complete texts of all the main lectures and a few short papers that were given at the International Symposium on Play, Play Therapy, and Play Research. Papers in part 1 concern certain phenomenological aspects of play; play as a way of dialogical development and the anthropology of play; the metaphor of games in social science research; the reversal theory perspective on play; the relationship of play to myth and hope; and ways parents and teachers can encourage children's imaginative play. Papers in part 2 explore the development of imagination in early childhood and the foundations of play therapy; different play in different children and implications for treatment; the circular floor painting game; family play therapy; evaluation of play therapy in clinical practice and how researchers and practitioners can work together in evaluations; and practice and research in play therapy. Papers in part 3 focus on research on the play therapy process; a micro-analysis of exploration and play; use of the world technique with language-disordered children; fantasy play of preschoolers as a function of toy structure; and various research approaches to play behavior. (RH)