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What is play therapy? Play therapy is
to children what counseling or psychotherapy is to adults. Play
therapy is a type of mental health or developmental intervention
which is designed to help children grow up as happy and well-adjusted
as possible. Play therapy utilizes play, children’s natural
medium of expression, to help them express their feelings more
easily through toys instead of words. Throughout their
lives, most children go through difficult times, such as trouble
making friends, the divorce of their parents, or adjusting to
changes at school or home. Some children need more help than
others to get through these times. If you or other adults in
your child’s life are concerned about your child’s behavior,
play therapy can help. It is the most appropriate treatment for
helping your child work through difficult times and helping you
gain a better understanding of what your child is going through. It
involves the use of play to communicate with children and to
help children learn to solve problems and change their negative
behaviors. Sometimes it involves the entire family. Play
therapy refers to a large number of treatment methods, all of
which make use of one or more of the natural benefits of play.
Play allows children a safe psychological distance from their
problems and allows them to express their true thoughts and feelings
in ways best suited to their developmental level. Play therapy
allows trained play therapists to assess and understand children’s
play and to use it in assisting the child in coping with difficult
emotions and in finding solutions to their problems.
Does your child need play therapy? In
the process of growing up, children often experience difficulty
coping at some time (at home, at school, with divorce and separation,
with other children, etc.), or they exhibit behaviors which
concern their parents or teachers. Some children may need more
help than others in some areas. Generally, if you, your child’s
teacher, or pediatrician is concerned about your child’s behavior
or difficulty adjusting, play therapy may be the recommended
approach to help your child.
Why play? Play is a child’s natural
form of communication just as talking is an adult’s natural
way of communication. Children, even children who are quite
talkative, express themselves more fully through their play.
Emotions are often difficult to understand for children and
even more difficult to express. Play provides a non-threatening
way for children to express themselves. Here’s why play therapy
is often recommended for children: Play is the primary
way that children...
- learn about the world
- understand how different things work
- express their thoughts and feelings
- develop their physical skills
- develop their mental skills
- develop effective social skills and bonds.
As children grow, their use of language becomes more sophisticated,
but throughout childhood, they usually express much more of themselves
in their play. We can understand our children better if
we understand their play. By watching children play we
often learn more about their thoughts, feelings, motivations,
and struggles than by talking with them! Play has been
called the “language of childhood,” so if we re-learn
that language, it can help us build even stronger relationships
with our children. Play is not something trivial; on the
contrary, it is one of the most critical elements of healthy
child development!
Perhaps you’ve seen some of the nature programs
on television which show animal babies playing with each other
or with their mothers as they develop their hunting and survival
skills. Scientists generally agree that play fosters healthy
development of young and adult animals alike. A long-term study
of animal play in the wild reported in National Geographic (December
1994) suggests that play is a “rehearsal for the challenges and
ambiguities of life.” This leads to greater strength, increased
physical and mental skills, improved judgment, greater security,
and stronger social bonds, characteristics that contribute to
success as the animal grows.
The same is true for human children
and adults. Playfulness and humor are closely related to mental
health, intellectual development, creativity and problem-solving,
and even productivity on the job! Although we sometimes think
of play as trivial, in actuality it is one of the strongest supports
for coping, learning, good adjustment, and productive activity!
Many have spent time working in manufacturing companies where
the work is hard and the physical environment (& sometimes
the overall climate) is very unpleasant. It is impressive how
people use humor and playfulness to cope with some of the most
difficult and oppressive situations. The same coping happens
in medical environments where people are coping with serious
illness. Humor and play help us get through tough times.
So how is play therapeutic? Play
therapy creates a safe atmosphere where children
can express themselves, try new things, learn more
about how the world works, learn about social rules and restrictions,
and work through their problems. Play therapy gives
children an opportunity to explore and open up
more than usual.
When we, as adults, encounter a tough problem,
we often think about it for a while, look at it from different
angles, determine our options, and sometimes talk about it with
someone we trust. When things go wrong for us, we might mentally
review what happened and think about how we might handle the
situation in the future. During play therapy, children do these
same things using their imaginations. Play therapy provides the
tools (toys and activities) and the atmosphere to help children
express themselves, work on their problems, “try on” different
solutions, and learn more effective coping methods.
What is a play therapist? A play
therapist is a trained mental health professional
who facilitates play so that the child can systematically
address and resolve his/her own problems. Play therapists work
differently but all use the benefits of play to
psychologically help children. Some play therapists
work more directly with the problem of the child
and some play therapists work with the child holistically
for insight into the child’s personality and perceptions.
What happens in play therapy? Play
therapists are specifically trained to provide an environment
of acceptance, empathy, and understanding in the play therapy
room. Play therapy is not the same thing as playing. Play therapy
uses the child’s natural tendency to “play out” their reactions
to life situations, in the presence of a trained play therapist,
to help the child feel accepted and understood and gain a sense
of control or understanding of difficult situations. Actually
there are many different types of play therapy, so what happens
in a session can be quite varied. The common aspects are that
the therapist holding the session will know how to systematically
use play or playful activities to communicate with the child.
The specific activities will differ. Here are some of the things
that might happen.
Sometimes therapists
take children into a playroom that has a wide range of carefully
selected toys. The toys are chosen because they help children
express a variety of feelings and problems. Toys are carefully
selected for the play therapy room to facilitate creative and
emotional expression from children. The types of toys used can
be played with in many ways and therefore allow for decision-making
in children. They are also very durable and sturdy to allow for
repeated use and rough play.
The therapist allows the child to
pick the toys and how they want to play with them. The therapist
pays extremely close attention to the child’s actions and feelings,
sometimes engages in imaginary play with the child, and sets
limits if the child’s behavior gets “out of line.” In this type
of play therapy, called child-centered play therapy, the child’s
problems or issues usually come out naturally in their play.
For example, a girl whose mom had kidney failure and needed a
transplant eventually made a small kidney out of modeling clay
and performed an imaginary “transplant” on a stuffed animal
in a play session. Over the course of several sessions
it became clear that the girl was quite worried about her mom,
wanted to help her mom get better, and was playing in a way so
that she (the child) wouldn’t feel so helpless. Shortly
after these sessions, she began to talk more openly with her
mom about the upcoming surgery and her fears. Part of the
therapist’s training is knowing how to interpret the meaning
of children’s play. Through the course of building a relationship
and engaging in the process of play therapy, your child’s play
therapist will watch for themes in your child’s play. This can
help the therapist discuss the “root causes” of the
problems with the parents and come up with possible strategies
that are more likely to work. If there are questions of abuse
over time and across sessions, your child’s play therapist may
be able to observe enough information to either support or contradict
an assumption you may have regarding abuse of your child.
Other
times in play therapy, the therapist might decide to do a specific
type of activity with a child because it will teach the child
a skill they need to learn or will help the child understand
things better. For example, if a child has trouble getting along
with other children, the therapist might use group play therapy
(with the parents’ permission) to help the child learn better
social skills. The therapist might have the group play a game
together while helping the children learn about sharing, taking
turns, winning and losing gracefully, showing interest in others,
keeping focused on a task, etc. Using the game holds the children’s
interest more than something more serious would and actually
helps them practice and develop these different social skills
more readily.
Other types of play therapy involve the entire
family. This involvement can take different forms. The parent
may be involved in the play session and or trained to conduct
play sessions at home with the child during the week.
The length of time a
child is seen in play therapy varies from child to child. It
depends upon the severity of the presenting problem, the child’s
personality, and how the child perceived the issue. This can
be discussed with your child’s play therapist during consultation
times.
Parents often want to know if they can watch their child
in play therapy? Just as a counselor who works with adults
keeps the information shared in sessions confidential, your child’s
play therapist will keep the information from their sessions
confidential (exceptions apply). However, he or she will meet
with you periodically to discuss your child’s play in general
themes, hear your concerns, and talk about any questions you
may have related to your child’s progress in play therapy.
How
do I choose a play therapist? Because play therapists
work differently with children, it is very important that you
choose a play therapist who is well-trained in play and in
working with children. All mental health professionals have
not been trained in the most appropriate ways to work with
children’s emotional problems.
Registered Play Therapist: The Association for
Play Therapy initiated a professional registration program
in 1992 to verify the play therapy training earned by mental
health professionals. Although play therapy, like other interventions,
does not guarantee that all children can be helped, this program
does document the play therapy education and training that
a play therapist has completed.
A play therapist who has successfully completed this program
is easily identified by his/her professional designation as either
a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) or Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor
(RPT-S). These designees have received over 150 hours of play
therapy instruction, completed a minimum of 500 hours of play
therapy under supervision, and, to maintain their designation,
must thereafter earn an additional 36 hours of continuing education
every three years and maintain their primary professional mental
health credential and/or license.
When seeking mental health services for your child, please inquire
about the mental health training of your mental health professional,
including his/her specific training with children and with play
therapy. Some questions that might be helpful include:
- What is your training as a mental health professional?
- What mental health degree have you earned?
- Have you ever received formal education on working with children?
To what extent?
- Have you ever received formal education on play therapy?
To what extent?
- What process do you use to work with children?
How do
I prepare my child for play therapy? You may
tell your child that s/he “will be spending time with
(therapist’s name) in a special playroom every week where there
are toys to play with”. If your child wants to know why
s/he is going to the playroom, you may say something like,
“When things are hard for you at home (or at school), sometimes
it helps to have a special place to play.”
It is important for the child to feel safe in play therapy. Therefore,
most play therapists engage in the concept of “confidentiality” which
means that what children specifically say and do in play therapy
will be kept confidential (exceptions include allegations of
abuse or harm to self and others). The play therapist will involve
the parent by sharing general themes, helpful responses, and
progress in therapy with the parent as well as meet with the
parent on a regular basis. This confidentiality allows children
to feel that they can fully express themselves without being
inhibited by the concern over their parents’ reactions or feelings.
Play therapists may also facilitate family therapy on a regular
basis in which all or some family members may participate to
work toward therapeutic success for the child.
Important: The information contained herein should
not be used as a substitute for medical or psychological care or the advice
of a trained medical or mental health professional.
The above information was adapted from the following resources:
Risë VanFleet,
PhD, A Parent’s Guide to Filial Therapy,1998/2001;
Garry Landreth, EdD, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship,
2002;
Why Play Therapy? Brochure published by the Association
for Play Therapy;
Information for Parents from the
North Texas University Center for Play Therapy website 2005.
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