Introduction to Play

Therapy
Day One
Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy 2015
Clip Art courtesy
of
Google images unless otherwise noted.
Welcome to Level 1

• Please pick a sand tray image that

symbolizes (for you) why you are
interested in Play Therapy and then
take a seat.
• We will use these images in our warm
up activity
 Please
• close your handouts and don’t look at
them until we have completed some
small group activities.
• When we look at them again please do
not look forward in slide notes.
Let’s look at a quick BAPT video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch v=6RkdZDf1jLY
Strong National Museum of
Play

"It is in playing, and only in playing, that

the individual child or adult is able to be
creative and to use the whole personality,
and it is only in being creative that the
individual discovers the self.”
D.W. Winnicott
British pediatrician
1896–1971
http://www.featureshoot.com/2013/03/photos-of-children-from-around-the-world-with-their
-most-prized-possessions/
 PT Belief

“Children have the capacity within themselves to

grow, develop, and solve problems when they
experience an environment of safety and trust.The
play therapy environment is characterized by
freedom, acceptance, and permissiveness where the
child ‘learns to accept himself, to grant himself the
permissiveness to utilize all his capacities, and to
assume responsibility for himself”
Dibs: In Search of Self, (1964). A Ballantine Book Published by The
Random House Publishing Group, New York, USA.
www.ballantinebooks.com
 Who are you?
• One at a time we will place our sand
tray image in our community tray.
• Please share your name and where you
are from and (if you choose to) you can
share why this image stood out for you.
Words however, are not needed.
Who is your workshop trainer?

• T

• Theresa Fraser - Past President of the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy

• Child and Youth Worker, B.A., Diploma in General Social Work, Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology

• Trauma and Loss Clinical Specialist

• Certfied Play Therapist Supervisor

• Current Professor of Child and Youth Work at Sheridan College

• Treatment Foster Parent for over 25 years

• foster/adoptive /bio parent of special needs kids

• International Presenter

• named 2009 Trauma Specialist of the Year by National Institute for Trauma and Loss

• Author of Books and Play Therapy Chapters as well as magazine articles

• Owner/Lead Therapist of Changing Steps

Supervised and mentored by Canadian Greats, Lorie Walton, Dr. Nancy Riedel Bowers, Liana Lowenstein and Dr. Evangeline Munns
as well as Dr. Gisela De Domenico
Overview of our Day
• This introductory course will
begin with a short introduction
to CACPT and the
Certification Process.
Following the morning break
we will then share the various
definitions of Play Therapy. • Changign
The therapeutic powers of play
will be presented and applied
to the play therapy process.

• We will learn how to set up a

playroom and a portable play
therapy kit as well as how to
select appropriate materials.

Changing Steps Office

Learning Objectives
1) Define play therapy and the difference between play and play therapy;

2) Identify the value and therapeutic powers of play therapy;

3) Identify the types of play and the differences in play exhibited by

adjusted and children whose experiences have impacted their
functioning.

4) Cite the developmental stages of play;

5) Identify how to set up a play room and how to select toys and materials
to facilitate therapeutic growth.

6) Identify how to set up a portable play therapy kit

7) Does the group have other goals?.

Learning Contract
There will be two 15 minute breaks and an hour lunch. We will begin
promptly at 1:00 p.m. after we leave for lunch.

Please turn your cell phones volume off. If you need to be “on call”
please do so professionally by stepping out of the room.

If the behaviour of another student is impeding your learning please

let your Hostess/Instructor know.

Attendees and those attending Professional Development days at

the Cert Program need to sign in and out. Our courses also provide
APT CEU’s however, an evaluation needs to be completed and a
Certificate needs to be purchased from the CACPT head office.
Do you have….
 The use of Play
Therapy
was first elucidated by the pioneers of Child Psychotherapy.
Anna Freud (1928, 1964, 1965), Margaret Lowenfeld (1935,
1970) and Melanie Klein (1961, 1987) posited the theoretical
premise for the use of play, for example, Klein (1961, 1987)
stipulated that a child's spontaneous play was a substitute
for the free association used within adult psychoanalysis.

Theories and practice surrounding play differ within each

Child Psychotherapy tradition. However, each tradition is
connected by the central proposition that play transmits
and communicates the child's unconscious experiences,
desires, thoughts and emotions.

Retrieved April 7, 2013 from:

http://www.bapt.info/historyofpt.htm
Please remember
Our Canadian Play Therapy Certificate program is
very special. We do not only teach you one model or
approach. Instead you will learn about many models
and approaches from mostly Canadian experts in
our field. You can then choose to gain further
education in an area that interests you or is
connected to your strengths or client need. The other
benefit is if you know about a modality such as
Theraplay© you can refer a client to a clinician who
is trained in this modality given we cannot practice
outside our area of expertise.
 Who are these
people?
• Who is Carl Rogers?
• Who is Virginia Axline?
• Who is Gary Landreth?
• Who is Alfred Adler?
• Who is Terry Kottman?
• Who is Carl Jung?
• Who is Ann Jernberg?
• Who is Dora Kalff?
• Who is Gisela De Domenico? And there
are others…..
 How do different associations
define PT?

APT defines play therapy as "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.”
Retrieved April 14, 2013 from
http://www.a4pt.org
BAPT defines PT as:
"Play Therapy is the dynamic process between child
and Play Therapist in which the child explores at
his or her own pace and with his or her own
agenda those issues, past and current, conscious
and unconscious, that are affecting the child's life
in the present. The child's inner resources are
enabled by the therapeutic alliance to bring about
growth and change. Play Therapy is child-centred,
in which play is the primary medium and speech
is the secondary medium.”
Retrieved April 14, 2013 from:
http://www.bapt.info/historyofpt.htm
CACPT defines PT as:
Play Therapy is beneficial to a child who is experiencing
difficulties in the home, school or community. It is a
therapeutic approach for human service professionals and
as stated by Virginia Axline, "provides an opportunity for
the child to 'play out' his or her feelings and problems just
as, in certain adult therapy, an individual 'talks out' his or
her difficulties". A child's self-understanding is one of the
goals in this approach. Play Therapy can be used either as a
primary or adjunct therapy in settings such as , Children's
Services, Community Agencies, Psychiatric Centers,
Children's Hospitals, Schools, and Women's Shelters. Play
Therapists work with children individually, with their
families and in group settings.

Retrieved April 14, 2013 from: www.cacpt.com

Let’s define play

 It promotes intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

 The process is more important than the end result
 Can lose awareness of time and surroundings.
Therefore play can be stress reducing
 Positive feelings are derived from and are a result of
the play. Promotes endorphins
 Play gives freedom to try out ideas. It promotes
exploration, knowledge and confidence

Retrieve from Lorie Walton 2011 Intro Day

Cartoon retrieved April 14, 2013 from:
http://www.mansfieldplayforum.co.uk
Functions of Play
Play reinforces the child's growth and
development. Some of the more
common functions of play are to
facilitate physical, emotional, cognitive,
social, and moral development.

Retrieved April 14, 2013 from:

http://www.healthofchildren.com/P/Play.html#b
Play actually helps
to…

“to produce change, and is not “just a

medium for applying other change agents
nor does it just moderate the strength or
direction of the therapeutic change”
(Schaefer, Drewes.,p. 2)
 Types of Play
• Physical play
• Manipulative play
• Expressive play
• Symbolic play
• Dramatic play
• Familiarization play
• Games
• Surrogate play
Retrieved March 30, 2013 from:
http://www.healthofchildren.com/P/Play.
What is the difference between
play and PT?

“Play Therapy is not the same as

playing. Play Therapy uses
your child’s natural tendency
to “play out” their feelings,
worries and life situations in
the presence of a specially
trained Play Therapist. The
Play Therapist helps the child
to feel accepted, understood
and gain a sense of control or
understanding about difficult
feelings or situations”.
Retrieved April 14, 2013
from:http://www.discovermeot.com.au/index_files/P
age1483.htm
 Remember Piaget
(1951)
THESE STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR
CLIENTS ARE DEVEOPMENTALLY.

Sensorimotor - Child learns about himself and his environment through motor
and reflex actions

Pre-operational - Children do not yet understand concrete logic, can`t mentally

manipulate information, & are egocentric. They are able to use an object to
represent something else (ie: broom = horse). Role playing also begins in this
stage.

Concrete - The child develops an ability to

think abstractly and to make rational judgements
about concrete or observable phenomena, which in
the past he needed to manipulate physically to
understand.
Formal – The child no longer requires concrete
objects to make rational judgements.
Developmental Stages of
Social Play

Mildred Parton (1932) Identified six stages of play after

observing school children ages 2-5 years of age.

Unoccupied (observing)

Solitary- un interested or unaware of others

Onlooker- child may talk about the play

Parallel-adjacent play

Associative – interaction is involved but activities are not

coordinated

Cooperative Play

Parton found that with increasing age, the children

tended to participate in more social forms of play.
Younger children tended to engage in more
Photo retrieved April 14, 2013
unoccupied behaviour, onlooker behaviour, and from www.childsavesers.org
solitary play, while older preschoolers engaged in
more cooperative play.
Sarah Smilanksy 1968
Sara Smilansky is known for her four
stages of play. These play stages are
considered to reflect a child’s
cognitive development.

(1)Functional play
(also called practice play)

(2)Constructive play – children create or

assemble a structure or object

(3)Dramatic or symbolic play

(4) Games with rules

Retrieved April 20, 2013 from:

http://www.beststart.org/OnTrack_English/pdf/
OnTrack-Section4.pdf
Smith and Pellegrini
2008
Play can also be classified into play behaviour
that corresponds to some developmental
domains, although there is always
considerable overlap:

• Locomotor play – physical

• Social play - social/emotional

• Pretend play - social/emotional

• Object play – cognitive

• Language play - language and literacy

Retrieved from:

http://www.beststart.org/OnTrack_English/pdf/
OnTrack-Section4.pdf
Rubin, Watson, and Jambor
(1978)
Infants engage in solitary-functional play

Toddlers engage in parallel-functional play

Preschoolers engage in associative play, constructive

play and dramatic play

Four and five year olds engage in cooperative-

constructive play,

socio-dramatic play and begin to play games with

rules.

Kindergarten and school age children elaborate

cooperative- constructive play, socio-dramatic
play and games with rules.

Retrieved April 20, 2013 from:

http://www.beststart.org/OnTrack_English/
pdf/OnTrack-Section4.pdf
We should be concerned
when:
Day after day is spent in solitary
play and play seems “stuck” adults
should extend their observations to
determine if:

• The child is being isolated by peers

• The child has some emerging interest

and social skills

• The child chooses to play alone

• The child needs some assistance to

move beyond the present form and
level of play.
 Erikson social
emotional
development

Erik Erikson 1902-1994

We also need to
remember where our
clients are in these
eight psychosocial
stages of man.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs

Why is this important to

remember prior to
beginning therapy?
Urie Bronfenbrenner
This theory looks at a child’s
development within the
context of the system of Look at this link for further
relationships that form his information on Ecological
or her environment. Systems Theory.

http://www.cms-kids.com/
providers/early_steps/
training/documents/
bronfenbrenners_ecologic
al.pdf
What are the therapeutic powers
of play?

An interpersonal process
wherein a trained therapist
systematically applies the
curative powers of play to
help clients resolve their
psychological difficulties
(Schaefer, 2005)

It has the power to not only

facilitate normal child
development but also to
alleviate abnormal
behaviour.
Rational for Play
Therapy
Through play, children are able to explore problems, hopes, concerns,
abilities, fears, and potentials. There are many reasons why play is
the modality of choice when working with children, including:
• Play is the natural medium of communication for children
• Play is enjoyable so it can be used to engage children in counseling
• Children act out their internal conflicts through play. As such, by
observing themes and trends that emerge over time, the therapist
can use the child's play as a means to assess and diagnose
• Play enables children to gain insight about themselves and others
• Play therapy assists children in their overall development, as well as
in their development of their social skills and self-esteem
• Children use play to act out unconscious material, to relieve the
accompanying tension, and to resolve their internal conflicts

Lorie Walton© 2011 Day One Slides

Photo from:
www.renewinghope.net
Slide Content from 2012
Introductory Day: Lorie Walton
 How is this valuable for
children,teens and families?

Large group brainstorming....

 Healing
Dia
Communicati gn
on o s is
.

Developme
nt

Purpose of Play
Therapy-
Lorie Walton © 2012
 Resistance to
therapy
• fearful in new situation
• ill prepared
• little control over process
• Why me syndrome
• fear of further victimization
• loyalty issues
 A desirable play
therapy toy
• facilitates the establishment of contact with the
child
• encourages catharsis
• aids in developing insight
• furnishes opportunities for reality testing
• provides media for sublimation
(Landreth, 1982)pp.152.
Landreth, G. (1982).Play Therapy: Dynamics of the
Process of Counseling with Children. Charles C
Thomas Publisher, LTD.
Let’s break in three groups….

• Please meet and develop a list of toys

that you believe need to be the “tools”
of a Play Therapist
• One group member will need to present
this list to the entire group.
 “Tools”

ieved April 14, 2013 from: BAPT Facebook page

 Dr. Gary Landreth-
University of North Texas
says
• Real-Life Toys: This category consists of toys that are directly representative of real-world
items including doll families, dollhouse, puppets, cars, boats, airplanes, cash register, and
play money among other things.

• Aggressive-Release Toys: This toy grouping allows for the release of emotions that are
typically not allowed to be expressed in other settings and includes Bobo or the bop bag, toy
soldiers, rubber knives, and toy guns (that purposely do not look realistic). Less obvious, but
still important are egg cartoons and Popsicle sticks that can be physically broken down and
destroyed.

• Creative Expression Toys: This category contains toys that allow for creativity. Paints,
butcher paper and an easel, crayons, sand, water, and instruments. Depending on the setting
of the playroom, some of these items may need to be replaced with an alternative item.
Adapted from Landreth, G. L. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. (2nd
ed.). New York: Brunner-Routledge.

• Retrieved April 7, 2013 from: http://cpt.unt.edu/index/recommended-toy-list/

 Let’s play at the
different stations and
decide …..
• real life
• aggressive release
• creative expression
Each group will play for ten minutes in
one area and then we will come back as
a group.
Portable PT kits
• Why would you use a portable kit?
• What would you want in your kit?
• How might this change?
• How to transport and store

Watch Pam Dyson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng9KnNq_5Fw
 How to set up a
playroom?
Let’s look at some examples
for our Playground
Magazine – each group
has 10 minutes to identify:

What do you like about this

healing space?

What would you do

differently to this space ?

What do you think you need

to consider with your
client group when
providing a healing
space?
 PT space
considerations?

• Size, location
• Clean, organized
• Respects confidentiality
• Broken toys? Current pop culture toys?
• Toys that reflect various experiences? Do we exclude any?
• Toys that reflect cultural groups, generations etc?

•
 Resources
• Garage sales
• Thrift shops
• Online venders
• let other’s know that you require
“tools”
• Keep receipts
Group Participation
time
For each of the following slides I will be
looking for an example of this
therapeutic power of play. What might
you see if this power is being exhibited?

Clip Art retrieved from Google Images

In Subsequent Slides

We will briefly define the therapeutic

powers of play as described in Charlie
Schaefer’s book.
Schaefer,C.,Drewes. A.(2014).The
therapeutic Powers of Play. 20 Core
Agents of Change.Hoboken:New Jersey.
John Wiley & Sons
 Facilitates
Communication

• Play is one of the most important ways in

which children learn that their feelings
can be safely expressed and
communicated.
• During play, children feel free to act out
inner feelings of fear, anger, or loss that
might otherwise be overwhelming.
 Self Expression
• to talk in the first person
• “Allows for as it is- not for real life quality
(p.13)”.
• “there are some experiences in real life that are
too complicated for words(p. 13)”.
• Creative play, traumatic play

Chapter 2. Mary Morrison and Stephanie Eberts

 Access to the
Unconscious
“Play expresses language of the right
hemisphere made up of sensory-motor
sensations, kinesthetic and visceral
sensations, and visual
images(Shore,2003a,2004b)” as quoted in
Chapter 3 by David Crenshaw and
Kathleen Tillman.
Schore,A.N.(2003a).Affect dysregulation and disorders
of self. New York: Norton
Schore,A.N.(2003b).Affect regulation and the repair of
the self . New York: Norton.
Direct Teaching

“Is a process by which the therapist

imparts knowledge or skills through such
strategies as instruction, modeling, guided
practice, and positive
reinforcement(p.39)”.
Chapter 4 Theresa Fraser
Indirect Teaching

“Indirect teaching is a strategy within play

and play therapy that can be used to
support thinking about feelings and issues
for children(p.66)”.
Chapter 5 Aideen Taylor De Faoite
 Catharsis
“Stress reducing play offers stress-
reducing potential. Catharsis allows the
child the satisfaction of completing some
or all of a previously restrained or
interrupted sequence of self-
expression(p.71)”.
Chapter 6- Athena Drewes and Charles E.
Schaefer
 Catharsis…
• Emotional Release
• Play activities should have an element
of freedom to allow an opportunity to
find greater – if not full – expression of
feelings.
• Especially achieved in an atmosphere of
permissiveness with some limits
defined.
 Abreaction…
“Steele and Colrain(1990)describe
abreaction as the revivication of past
memory with the release of bound emotion
and the recovery of repressed or dissociated
aspects of a remembered event… it
provides the psychic reworking of the
trauma that identifies, releases and
assimilates the unresolved aspects of abuse,
allowing resolution and integration on both
psychological and physiological
levels(p.85)”.
 Abreaction
• The process of becoming conscious of
repressed/buried events
• Children slowly digest and assimilate
traumatic experiences by reliving them
with an appropriate release of emotion
• Thru the therapist-child interaction, the
child can be helped to find a frame of
reference
• A sense of mastery is then gained
Positive Emotions
• Play is free from external demands
• Research states that enjoyment of a task
increases persistence and motivation to do
better
“It is essential to incorporate fun and pleasure in
play therapy sessions and there is empirical
support (and brain chemistry) to prove it (p.
117)”.

Chapter 8- Terry Kottman

Counterconditioning
Fears
“Counterconditioning of fears refers to the
reduction and extinction of a
fearful/anxious response to stimulus by
helping clients to learn an incompatible
(counter opposite) response such as
relaxing, eating, or playing(p.121)”.
Chapter 9- Tammi Van Hollander
Stress Inoculation

“Stress inoculation has been used with

adults and children to reduce anxiety
about situations they will experience in
the future(p.139)”.
Chapter 10- Angela Cavett
Stress Management
“Play in its truest form- child driven,
voluntary and nongoal-orientated-affords
the opportunity for self-soothing
play(p.146)”.
“Sensory, tactile play engages both
hemispheres of the brain by activating the
right hemisphere through non-verbal and
expressive modalities leading to improved
regulation and functionality (Gil,2006) as
noted on(p.146)”.
 Therapeutic
Relationships
The role of play in facilitating a positive
relationship between child and therapist is
crucial for the child to gain a stronger
acceptance of himself.
“The power of play to facilitate the
development of a therapeutic relationship is
helpful across a wide variety of presenting
problems especially those involving
interpersonal difficulties(p.163)”.
 Attachment

Thru the replication of positive child-

parent interaction, the child has the
potential of establishing a secure
attachment experience.
Social Competence
Thru play, children gain a sense of mastery and
self-accomplishment
Play therefore holds an important role in building
competence in many areas
“Play- Competence Spiral”
Research shows that children can learn to
improve their ability to cope with feared real-
life situations by playing out fear-related
mastery themes
Erikson, Erik H. (1993) [1950]. Childhood and Society. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &
Company.
 Empathy
“By applying neuroscience concepts, play
therapists have a unique opportunity to
create highly effective therapeutic
strategies that greatly contribute to the
development of empathetic qualities in
children, as well as contributing to the
well being of children, their families and
society(p.207)”.
Chapter 15 Richard Gaskill
 Increases Personal
Strengths
• Creative problem solving
• Resiliency
• Moral development
• Accelerated psychological development
• Self regulation
• Self esteem
Creative Problem
Solving
• In play, the activity doesn’t have to be done ‘right’
• Divergent thinking ability
• It is ok to make a mistake
• Children are at ease to explore and experiment with
a variety of solutions to different problems during
play
• Play out alternate coping strategies
 Resiliency

“In play therapy, the play becomes

transformative in providing a new
prospective of self and/or environment,
which is at the heart of resiliency as a
therapeutic power of play (p.226)”.
Chapter 17 – John Seymour
Dr. Michael Unger-
“In the context of exposure to significant
adversity, resilience is both the capacity of
individuals to navigate their way to the
psychological, social, cultural, and physical
resources that sustain their well-being, and their
capacity individually and collectively to negotiate
for these resources to be provided in culturally
meaningful ways.”
Retrieved from: http://resilienceproject.org/
Moral Development

“Moral development is a natural

phenomenon that occurs as a child
matures through interactions, neurological
development, and direct learning(p.253)”.
Chapter 18 – Jill Packman
 Enhance Social
Relationships

• Therapeutic relationships
• Attachment
• Social competence
• Empathy
Accelerated Psychological
Development
• Play can assist a child’s development
(physical, cognitive, social and
emotional) especially for those children
whose development has been
disrupted.
• Play therapy is in alignment with the
Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
(Bruce Perry).
 Self Regulation

• “Strong self regulators utilize mental

strategies to adjust their attention and
arousal and thus bring their actions in
line with their intentions(p.270)”.
• Chapter 20- Marcie Yeager, Daniel
Yeager
 Self Esteem

• “It seems like the process of enhancing

self-esteem is much like the Wizard of
Oz. Most often the positive qualities lie
within the individual. It often takes
others to activate these
qualities(p.317)”.
• Chapter 21- Diane Frey
 Overcoming
Resistance
1. Try to evaluate the dynamics underlying
initial resistance to treatment process
2. How is the resistance manifested? –
overtly or covertly?
3. Overcome the resistance by ENGAGING
the child in the therapeutic process
 When should PT be
considered?
Type 1, 2 or 3 Trauma
Social Skill issues
Abuse
Anxiety
Adjustment Disorder
PTSD
Grief & Loss
Divorce
(understanding that there are
many kinds of loss) Anger management
Attachment Disruptions Self-Esteem issues
Behavioural issues Developmental issues
Learning Disabilities Identity issues
Clip Art found on Google Images
 Differences in the play
of adjusted and children who
have had experiences that impact
Adjusted their functioning.
Children whose
experiences have
impacted their
functioning.
Exploratory Frozen
Creative Repetitive
Inviting Secretive
Regulated Unregulated
Anchored Unanchored
 In closing…
As you develop in your journey of becoming a Child
and Play Psychotherapist remember to
• Access supervision opportunities
• Read your CACPT playground magazine
• Get involved in our association!
• Connect with agencies that provide PT
• Read online journal articles about PT
• STAY CONNECTED TO PT COLLEAGUES

YOU - ARE NOW PART OF THE CANADIAN

PLAY THERAPY COMMUNITY!
 This program will
impact your life!

Athena Drewes, Theresa Fraser , Being there to award

Charles Schaefer and Linda one of my mentors the
Homeyer taken at prestigious
Wroxton 2009 Canadian Monica Herbert
Award
 You also have the
responsibility of impacting
the life of others.
Remember what Uncle Ben told Peter?
 Do continue to:

• Read the Code of Ethics regularly

• Continue learning in between the
certificate levels
• Seek regular supervision
 Don’t forget

To fill out your CACPT evaluation and to

sign out!
 Tomorrow:

Play Therapy History and Models with

Don Chafe