Play Therapy
Play therapy
refers to a wide variety of treatment methods, all of which
incorporate the use of play.
Play therapy
is based on the belief that play is an essential part of
children's lives and critical to healthy development. Play is
the language of children. Children, especially younger children,
naturally try to resolve psychological conflict by engaging in
play. Similar to the way dreams may help resolve unconscious
complexes, play therapies offer children a safe place to
explore, relive and find creative solutions to challenging or
traumatic experiences. Play therapists are trained to assess and
understand the metaphorical content of children's play.
Through play, children can learn about their own capabilities
and limitations, social rules and the difference between fantasy
and reality. They can rehearse new skills and come to master
difficult situations. Play helps children find words for their
experiences so that their peers and the adults in their lives
can better understand them. In
play therapy,
children are able to "play out" their concerns at a safe
psychological distance within a protected play environment. This
helps the child to discover creative solutions or uncover inner
resources.
Play therapists use their understanding of play to increase
children's coping skills and to share their understanding of the
play to parents, caregivers and educators involved in the
child’s life. In the playroom under the guidance of a play
therapist, children can confront their problems in a safe
environment in order to identify, confine and master them.
Parents are an integral part of the
play therapy
process. Therapists meet or consult regularly with parents to
support and enhance the work the child is doing in play therapy
sessions. Parents are crucial in providing feedback to the
therapist about changes at home. The therapist then translates
the child's play for the parents and gives suggestions on how to
support the child's therapy in the home environment.
Play therapy
has been effective with children whose problems are related to
life stressors, such as divorce, death, relocation,
hospitalization, invasive medical procedures, chronic illness in
self or family, domestic violence and natural disasters. Without
having to depend on words, children can increase their capacity
for expression through play. While many childhood upsets are
healed without therapeutic intervention,
play therapy
offers a natural, safe and noninvasive method to foster and
hasten recovery from common distressing events as well as major
traumas.
