Counseling Children

Play Therapy
PION

Play Therapy General Definition

A form of action therapy that uses sand play, fairy tales, art, and puppetry to encourage communication in children who have inadequate or immature verbalization skills or who verbalize excessively due to defensiveness.

The Purpose of Play Therapy

to enable children to indirectly express inner thoughts, fears, anxieties, and feelings of rage and guilt to help children accomplish developmental tasks through a protected modality in which they can learn to deal with difficulties in the here and now (playroom as sanctuary) to help children reduce anxiety and resolve conflict

The Process of Play Therapy

Metaphorical expression of distressing events allows children to externalize and fantasize their pain so that they can more effectively control it and learn adaptive ways to cope with it.

Play Therapy
Play is a primary method for working with children ages 2 -12 because of limited cognitive development and limited ability to verbalize thoughts and feelings, and because it is an integral part of childrens lives as well as a natural mode of learning and relating.

Adlerian Play
Uses techniques to provide
Encouragement reveal family constellation encourage early recollections reveal goals of childs behavior form tentative hypotheses about the childs behavior re-educate the child.

Gestalt Play
(Oaklander) uses play techniques that focus on:
establishing the relationship strengthening the childs sense of self and self-support encouraging emotional expression teaching the child to nurture self.

Cognitive-Behavioral Play
(Knell) focuses on:
childs thoughts, feelings, fantasies, and environment teach more adaptive behaviors through modeling, role-playing, and behavioral contingencies

Family Play
(Busby and Lufkin) discovers information about family relationships and identifies common themes. Goals (Anderson) include:
understanding the familys emotional atmosphere role expectations self-images structure.

Child-Centered Play
(Landreth) focuses on:
the relationship and convey unconditional caring and acceptance, respect, and patience allowing children to lead the relationship and solve their own problems

The Role of Play

Play is the currency of children Play is:
Pleasurable Spontaneous Voluntary

The Role of Play

Play has no goal, purpose, or task orientation Play is a natural way for children to:
Communicate Act out sensitive material Gain security (imaginary friend) Develop self-confidence (mastery)

Play allows children to experiment with new ways of thinking & behaving

Criteria for Play

Not literal Pleasure Intrinsic Motivation Flexibility

Stages of Play
Functional (Sensorimotor): Repetition and exploration
[0 - 2]

Constructive/Productive (Creative)
[2-4]

Dramatic/Reproductive (Realistic)
[4-7]

Games with Rules

[7-12]

Types of Materials
Real-life toys: doll house, telephone, etc. Acting Out/Aggressive Release Toys: handcuffs, toy guns and knives, drums, etc. Creative Expression/Emotional Release Toys: chalk, magic markers, scissors, paper, blocks, hand puppets, Play-Doh, etc.

Characteristics of Play
Healthy Play
Relate freely Conversational Spontaneous Direct & open Play alone or with you

Disturbed Play
Uncomfortable wants to be told what to do Questions or demands Aggressive Play alone or under your control

Characteristics of Play
Healthy
Play as exploration
feelings temporary tensions temporary conflicts

Disturbed
Play is intense Themes
are diffuse

Themes
are direct expression able to express negative feelings, but also positive feelings about same person

Stages of the Therapeutic Process

Open and permissive atmosphere for relationship building, focusing on the feelings that play behavior evokes, open-ended questions, developing hypotheses More directive play, testing hypotheses, exploration of feelings and behavior - active probing Engagement of the child in more systematically structured play sequences related to the conflict; use of systematic desensitization

Play Techniques
Play Interview
Counselor interviews child during play

Balloon Bursting in Structured Play

helps inhibited children become more assertive

Playhouses
shows home relationships gives insight into childs view of ideal home

Play Techniques
Puppets
may be used to talk about difficult issues a variety of 15-20 puppets recommended counselor interviews the child after the story is told through the puppets

Telephone
children may imitate parents on the phone or talk to an imaginary or lost friend or loved one

Play Techniques
Sandplay
allows counselor access to childs world while promoting understanding & self-discovery

Waterplay
can be an outlet for releasing aggression or for relaxation

Food
counselor explores with child various reactions to food

Play Techniques
Finger Painting
can help child express feelings, overcome inhibitions, reveal fantasies child tells the story of the painting and the teacher asks for clarification and feelings color chosen and how the picture is drawn may be of importance

Play Techniques
Squiggle Technique
Counselor draws a squiggle (straight, curved, or zigzag line) and asks child to complete a drawing child tells a story about the squiggle with the Counselor asking for clarification process is then reversed; the Counselors story may be interpretative or make suggestions

Play Techniques
Art and Music Therapy
family drawings are often helpful in understanding family dynamics music can often reduce tension, stress, or anxiety

The Emotional Barometer

child is asked to give an indication of how he or she feels and how things are going

Play Techniques
Role Playing
used to act out situations or rehearse new learning may help Counselor understand how child perceives the world and relates to others

Family Word Association Game

child draws a picture of family, friends, or school and selects a card with an adjective word on it to describe the person(s)

Play Techniques
Magic
may be used to track relationship skills or promote awareness involve the child in the magic, choosing the tricks carefully to achieve a specific goal

Ventriloquism
figures may help in gathering information from resistant children, to teach social skills, or to explore ways for solving problems

Play Techniques
Board Games
build relationships promote emotional growth enhance communication help children with anxiety promote socialization

Play Techniques
Competitive Play
may be therapeutic and help with socialization skills, but negative effects on esteem and attitude should be considered

Group Play Therapy

children with similar problems and/or similar backgrounds may benefit from group play by sharing experiences and benefiting from the role modeling of others