Play Therapy & Children’s Counselling

What is Play Therapy?

Play can be viewed as the universal language of children. Children learn and develop through play. According to the psychodynamic characteristic of human behaviour, children will engage in play behaviour in order to work through their interior obstructions (difficulties) and anxieties without realizing it.

Play Therapy is defined as a dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child and a therapist trained in Play Therapy procedures. Play Therapy is a specific counselling approach in which games, toys and mediums such as books, clay, sand, writings, drawings and paint are used to help a child or adolescent to project and express their emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs. The Play Therapist provides selected play material (age appropriate) and facilitates the development of a safe relationship for the child to fully express and explore self (feelings, thoughts, experiences and behaviours), through the child’s natural means of communication: play. It helps children to understand certain feelings and upsetting events that they have not had the chance or the skills to sort out properly. Rather than having to explain on a cognitive level what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened. The objects and patterns of play, as well as the willingness to interact with the therapist, can be used to understand the underlying meanings for needs, wishes and behaviour both inside and outside the session. This experience empowers children and increases their self-esteem, thereby helping them manage better both at home and at school.

Play therapy is a well establish discipline based upon a number of psychological theories. Research, both qualitative and quantitative shows that it is highly effective method to help the child in emotional need.

 

Play itself does not produce the change, but it is the therapist’s interaction and utilisation of the Play therapeutic process that is critical.

 

What can be achieved through play therapy?

Play Therapy can be useful for any child of 3 years and older. It provides a way for them to express their experiences and feelings through a natural, self-guided, self-healing process.

Play Therapy assists in helping children to become aware of their feelings and how these feelings manifest in behaviour or one’s body. They can learn how to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. They can discover who they are and what their strong and weak points, needs, wishes, thoughts and dreams are. The combination of this self-knowledge and training in social skills may help a child to become more assertive, self-confident and to have self-respect and respect for others.

 

Is there a need for Play Therapy?

It is very important that emotional and behavioural problems are dealt with at an early stage. If left untreated these problems may cause a child and his family a great deal of distress. If a child does not understand his own behaviour or have control over it, it can cause fear and break down confidence. This can impact on other areas of life, such as the ability to complete tasks and schoolwork, to make friends and to deal with stress.

If you find that your child displays strange, uncharacteristic behaviour (like being aggressive, destructive, withdrawn, etc.) after a specific stressful event (like divorce, new school or grade, birth of a sibling, death, etc.) and this behaviour lasts for longer than two weeks, it probably is time to seek professional help. This behaviour may be an indication that your child is not able to deal with and express what he is experiencing or feeling. Sometimes your child’s behaviour may be inappropriate even if there is no specific stressor that you are aware of. Or the cause of the behaviour may be something totally different from that which you have imagined. Or your child may have had problems with regulating emotions from an early age and does not seem to be getting any better.

 

Who can benefit from Play Therapy?

Play Therapy is an effective method of intervention for children with a wide variety of difficulties including:

  • Children who have emotional difficulties and may appear withdrawn, shy, anxious or display low self-esteem
  • Children who have behavioural difficulties and may struggle to manage their anger and therefore display aggressive behaviour
  • Children whose emotional and behavioural difficulties make it difficult for them to concentrate in class
  • Children who have difficulties making friends
  • Children who are bullying others or who have experienced bullying
  • Children who have been traumatised by an event, such as witnessing domestic violence or parental conflict
  • Children who have experienced loss through bereavement
  • Children who are struggling to manage their parent’s separation or divorce
  • Children who are ill or disabled or who have a parent or other family member with an illness or disability
  • Children who have a parent or other family member with mental health difficulties or an addiction
  • Children coping with diabetics or any other medical diagnosis
  • Children with enuresis and/or encopresis
  • Children who have experienced physical or emotional abuse or neglect
  • Children who have been adopted or who are in foster care
  • Children who are diagnosed with ADHD or ADD
  • Children who struggle to adapt to any form of change
  • Children with physical symptoms without any medical cause

 

What are the benefits of Play Therapy?

  • Reduces anxiety
  • Promotes self-esteem
  • Enhances self-support
  • Promotes a sense of competence
  • Develops trust in self and others
  • Defines healthy boundaries
  • Enhances healthy bonding
  • Enhances creativity
  • Allow children to understand their own feelings
  • Promotes appropriate emotional and social behaviour