PLAY THERAPY Flashcards
a psychotherapeutic approach primarily used to help children ages 3 to 12 explore their lives and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play.
Play therapy
normally takes place in a safe, comfortable playroom, where very few rules or limits are imposed on the child, encouraging free expression and allowing the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, and play style
Therapeutic play
Goal of therapeutic play
*help children learn to express themselves in healthier ways
*become more
respectful and empathetic,
*discover new and more positive ways to solve problems.
is “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and
development
Play therapy according to APT
as “a way of being with the child that honors their unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping in the “language” of the child – play.”
Play therapy according to APT
play therapy lets children sort through complicated feelings and “use play to communicate at
their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.”
BAPT
This is a key aspect of play therapy since traditional therapy can often feel intimidating for children (and adults as well), which does not necessarily lead to a conducive environment for self-expression.
BAPT
underscores an important aspect of play therapy, which is the idea that the client can feel in control of how much they reveal about themselves.
BAPT
play therapy has been refined and targeted to a variety of different
disorders
ASD - ADHD
has also been used in normal functioning children and
adults to great effect.
Play therapy
a type of therapy where therapists allow clients (who are often but not always children) to play during sessions, rather than simply sitting with clients and asking them questions about their problems
Play therapy
Therapeutic play helps children with social or emotional deficits learn to
*communicate better,
*change their behavior
*develop problem-solving skills
*relate to others in positive ways
It is appropriate for children undergoing or witnessing stressful events in their lives, such as
*serious illness or hospitalization, *domestic violence, abuse, trauma, *family crisis,
*upsetting change in their environment
Play therapy can help children with
*academic and social problems,
*learning disabilities,
*behavioral disorders, anxiety, depression, grief,
or anger
*attention deficit disorders
*Autism spectrum.
plays an important role in play
therapy for children.
Parent or caregiver
allows the therapist to decide the
best treatment approach for the child
Assessment
the child is encouraged to play with
very specific types of toys that encourage
self-expression and facilitate the learning of positive
behaviors
Playroom
may also be incorporated into play therapy
Arts and crafts, music, dancing, storytelling
Play therapy usually occurs in weekly sessions for
an average
20 sessions lasting 30 to 45 minutes
each.
responds to the unique
developmental needs of young
children, who often express
themselves better through play
activities than through verbal
communication.
Play therapy
uses play and other
creative activities to communicate
with the child and observe how the
child uses these activities to express
thoughts and feelings that are not
expressed in words
Therapist
Two approaches to play therapy
- Nondirective play therapy
- Directive play therapy
is based on the principle that children can
resolve their own issues given the right conditions
and the freedom to play with limited instruction and
supervision
Nondirective play therapy
uses more input from the therapist to help
speed up results. Play therapists use both
approaches, depending on the circumstances.
Directive play
are well-trained in
child development, attachment, and
the use of play as a way to
communicate with children.
Play therapist
The play therapist should also be
trained in a recognized therapeutic
approach, such as
child-centered,
cognitive-behavioral, Adlerian, or
Gestalt therapy
Different types of play therapy
nondirective play therapy
* puppets/dollhouse/other toys for the purpose of
pretend play
* interpret play for emotional content
* directive play therapy
* interpret drawings for emotional content
* drawing/painting for the purpose of emotional
expression
* Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Toy and Object Play Techniques
Ball play
Toy telephone play
Plush doll play
Medical play
Block play
A therapist might present dozens of toys to the client, then ask them to pick out toys that represent family
members. This can help the therapist see what the client thinks and feels about their family members
(Schaeffer & Cangelosi, 2016).
Concrete Play Metaphors
A therapist might give a client a turtle puppet, and explain that when the turtle is upset about
something it stops, goes into its shell, closes its eyes, and takes three deep breaths. The client can
then play out this process with the turtle puppet, and this can help the client learn anger-management
techniques (Schneider & Robin, 1974
Turtle Technique
The client might be presented with an “emotion thermometer” showing a range of emotions from 0 (with
a smiling face) to 10 (with a frowning face) and asked to list events that make them feel like they are on
different points on the
thermometer. This might sound like, “What types of things make you feel like a smiling face? What about
a frowning face? What about a medium face?” o It has been shown that children who are taught to
monitor and regulate their emotions using this technique are likely to engage in fewer aggressive and
disruptive behaviors and display improved behavior in the classroom (Wyman et al., 2010)
Emotion thermometer
Developed by child psychiatrist Richard Gardner (1971), this technique involves the telling of stories by
both the client and the therapist. In this, the client (usually a child aged 8-14) is invited to tell a made-up
story using fictional characters.
Mutual story telling
At the end of the story, the child is asked to explain the lesson or moral of the story, and then the
therapist re-tells the story using the same characters but offering more adaptive solutions to the
conflicts faced by the characters.
Mutual story telling
To illustrate, imagine a child patient was to tell a story about two children fighting over a toy. If the
child’s resolution to the story involved one child using force to take the toy, the therapist’s adaptive
version of the story may depict the two children reaching an agreement to take turns and share the toy.
Mutual story telling
The therapist and client might role-play a situation the client is anxious about,
such as the first day of school, so that the child can work out what they feel
anxious about and possibly realize they do not need to be anxious at all
* (Schaeffer & Cangelosi, 2016).
Roleplay
The therapist and client might pretend that the client is being crowned the new
king or queen of a land. The therapist can then ask what the new king or queen
wants to do with their power, to figure out what the client likes and dislikes
(Marcus, 1966).
Costume play
The therapist might ask the client to make two collages (masks) out of
magazines. One mask (the “outside mask”) is how they think the world sees
them, and one mask (the “inside mask”) is how they see themselves. This can
reveal a lot about how the client thinks of themselves and the world (Schaeffer &
Cangelosi, 2016).
Mask play
The therapist might ask the client to draw a superhero with superpowers that the
client would like to have. The therapist can then help the client figure out how
their personal strengths can be as useful as these superpowers (Rubin &
Livesay, 2006).
Superhero play
are frequently used tools in play therapy, which can be employed in a
variety of ways (see Drewes & Schaefer, 2018).
Puppets
When facilitating this form of play, the therapist will
present the client and the client’s family with dozens of puppets, then ask the
client and the client’s family to each choose a puppet to represent them.
Family puppet interview
The client and the client’s family then tell a story using the puppets, and the
therapist interviews each family member about the story then discusses the story
with the whole group. This can reveal certain family dynamics that the client is
unable or unwilling to directly discuss with the therapist (Irwin & Malloy, 1975).
Puppet play
Communicating through puppets has also been shown to help clients
struggling with – (Rosenberg & Lindblad, 1978).
elective mutism
seems like a natural fit for children with autism spectrum
disorder (ASD), especially those with communication issues.
Play therapy
is one specific type of therapy that is often
used for ASD, and it has been found to be very effective (Lindsay et
al., 2017)
Lego therapy
LEGO® therapy involves three people: with each person playing a specific role which encourages
communication.
a supplier, a builder, and an
engineer
The specific benefits of LEGO® therapy include
improved:
“social interactions, social initiations, adaptive socialization, play,
communication skills, social competence, social confidence,
ASD-specific behaviours, belonging, family relationships, coping, making
new friends, independence, and inter-personal skills”.
