Play Therapy Essay

Some durations electric razorren go through with(predicate) difficult passages in their lives. It in that locationfore fuck offs prudent to provide them with effective ways of supportering them soothe through these passages. Infact, electric shaverren atomic number 18 good teachers and they know what they take and what is right for them (Kottman, 1993). e very(prenominal) they need is just space to do it. Play therefore becomes very important in releasing these pent-up emotions, tactile propertys of anxiety, fear disappointment, incursion and risk (Chethik, Morton. 2000). This brings us to the issue of bump therapy.What is act therapy? Play therapy refers to a order of psychotherapy with baby birdren in which a youngsters fantasies and symbolic meanings of his/her antic be used as a medium for understanding and parley with him/her (Landreth, 2002). through and through this method, the chela is stand byed to construe his/her emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs victimization games, nobbles and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint. By doing so, the fry is helped to understand the muddled feelings and upsetting events that he/she has not had a chance or skill to sort out properly. and therefore through this symbolic representation, the youngster gains a sense of control every military position events that in reality, seem uncontrollable. Unlike in adult therapy where one has to excuse what is troubling him, children use swordplay to communicate at their own take aim and pace without any feeling of interrogation or threat using toys as their words and play as their nomenclature (Landreth, 2002). Rationale for play therapy In play therapy, the symbolic of function play is vital in providing children with a means of expressing their inner humans.This use of play therapy is rooted on a development understanding of children. According to Pia worry (1962), children at the pre-operational stage (2-7 yrs) atomic number 18 acquiring l anguage in which symbols represent mental objects. A childs play in this stage becomes increasingly imaginary and fantasy-driven. The child is internally improving his/her understanding and knowledge but lacks the external readiness to communicate this enhanced way of processing within the world.Play indeed becomes the medium through which the child communicates this internal cognisantness of self to others. Piaget progress asserts that during the concrete operational state (8-11 yrs) the child grows in his/her personal great power to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. He/she is unable to express authorized complicated emotions such as resentment or guilt overdue to the need for abstract thought to understand them. Play thusly helps the child bridge the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought.Landreth (2002) identifies prefatory principles obligatory in play therapy. These include that childrens indispensable language is play, that they have a n inherent tendency towards offshoot and maturity and lastly, and are themselves adapted of positive self-direction since they posses the capacity to act responsibly. Play is a natural language from which children express themselves (Landreth, 2002). And as stated earlier, developmentally, it bridges the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought.Children gain a sense of control through play and withal produce coping skills (Chethik, Morton. 2000). At times, children also receive other types of treatment. Children for instance that are unable to control their assistance impulses, have a tendency to react violently, or experience relentless anxiety would be included in play therapy. The therapy addresses the childs psychological symptoms (Chethik, Morton. 2000). The child will also receive play therapy to ameliorate low self-esteem feelings, excessive worry, incompetence and helplessness (Chethik, Morton. 000).In play therapy, toys are viewed as the childs words and play as the childs language a language of activity. Play is then to children what psychotherapy is to adults. The use of toys enables the child to transfer his anxieties, fears, fantasies from his own feelings and guilt to objects alternatively then people. Through this process, the golosh of children from their own feelings is guaranteed because it enables them to distance themselves from those traumatic experiences.By playing out a frightening experience symbolically through play, or reversing the outcome in play activity, the child moves towards an inner dissolvent and then he/she is able to issue with or adjust to problems (Axline, 1989). Through the play processes, the child is allowed to envision new possibilities not possible in reality thus greatly expanding the expression of self (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Also, within the golosh of the play therapy experience, the child explores the unfamiliar and develops a knowing that is both experiential feelings and cognitive.I n a nutshell, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the child expresses outwardly what takes place inwardly. Therefore, a major function of play in play therapy is the changing of what whitethorn be unmanageable in real life to a manageable situation via symbolic representation, through which the child is provided with opportunities for education to cope (Axline, 1989). The process of play therapy The initial focus of therapy is in building a relationship between a child and the therapist.This relationship is what provides dynamic growth and healing for the child. It is therefore a very important tool because a child will readily express himself every time he/she feels respected and accepted. According to Landreth (1991), there are principles that should provide guidelines for establishment of a healthful relationship. Some of the guidelines include that the therapist is genuinely interested in the child. Also, the therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way.He further creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels abandon to explore and express himself/herself totally. Landreth further asserts that the therapist should always be exquisite to the childs feelings and gently reflect those feelings in a stylus that encourages the child to develop self-understanding (Landreth, 2002). Additionally, the therapist should deeply believe in the childs capacity to act responsibly and respect the childs ability to solve personal problems and give him the fortune to do so.He should also trust the childs inner direction and to rifle in all areas of relationship and avoid directing the childs play. This therapist should appreciate the gradual nature of the remediation process in a slow manner, and finally he should establish only the remedial limits that help the child accept personal and appropriate obligation. The primary object glass of the process i s not only to solve the problem but to help in the growth of the child.The therapist primarily meets with the child alone and arranges time to meet with parents separately or with the child depending with the situation. The structure of the sessions should be systematically maintained to provide a feeling of stability and safety for the child. In the session, the therapist uses specific techniques to assess how a child experiences his/her world and how he/she communicates and reacts to events and people in his/her own world. The child is led to become aware of what he/she is feeling and opportunities are given to express these feelings.Awareness is thus a very important aspect in play therapy because without it, dislodge is not possible (Chethik, Morton. 2000). Throughout the therapy, the child is empowered and supported to learn more about who he/she thinks she/he is, to talk about things that are frightening or painful, to be self supportive as sound as to experiment new behavi or (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Since the childs world is a world of action and activity, the therapy provides the therapist with an opportunity to enter the childs world.The child lives out the past experience and related moments at the moment of play. Without the presence of play materials, the therapist could only talk with the child about aggressive behavior exhibited in the recent past. In play therapy however, whatever reason for referral, the therapist has the opportunity to experience and actively lie with with that problem immediately. By so doing, the child plays out feelings by slam them to the surface, getting them out in the open, facing them and either abandoning them or learning to control them.Toys and materials Since toys and materials are part of this communicative process for children, careful fear must be given to their appropriate pickaxe. The rule here is selection rather than accumulation. Please note that random assortment of acquired toys and materials often show up like junk rooms and they therefore doom the therapy process to failure. They should then be carefully selected for the contribution they make to accomplish the play clinical and the extent to which they are consistent with the play therapy rationale.Some general guidelines to consider are that the tools should be durable and should communicate a message of be yourself in playing rather than be careful. They should provide children with a manikin in choice of medium of expression. (Eliana, G. 1994). However, they need not be elaborate and above all they should not be complex. Remember that the first toys to be used were sticks. The tools should be age appropriately manageable so that the child will not be frustrated in his efforts to express himself/herself. No toy should require the child to seek the therapists help to manipulate.Landreth (1991) asserts that the toys and materials should facilitate establishment of a positive relationship with the child, testing of limit s, exploration of real-life experiences, development of positive image, self-undertaking, expression of a wide range of feelings and opportunity to redirect behaviors unacceptable to others. These toys can be grouped into three radical classes viz real-life toys such as a dame, a small cardboard cut with rooms indicated by tape strips or felt pen markers, doll house furniture, pacifier and a small car.Secondly, there are those acting out or aggressive release toys such as handcuffs, toy guns, dart gun and toy soldiers, aggressive puppets, rubber knife and punching bags. Finally, there are toys for creative expression and randy release such as crayons, newsprints, blue scissors, hand puppets, plain mask, and also sand trays. Setting limits in Play Therapy This is a very crucial part of this process. The structure of the therapeutic limits is what helps to make the experience a real life relationship (Eliana, G. 994).Limits in play therapy have advantages both practically and ther apeutically since they preserve the therapeutic relationship facilitate the childs opportunities to learn self responsibility and self control. Provide the child with emotional security and physical safety and thus enabling the child to explore and express his/her inner emotional dimensions that perhaps have remained hidden in his/her other relationships (Axline, 1989).Boundaries are necessary here to provide predictability and thus the children are not allowed to do anything they want to do. The play therapy relationship has minimum limits (Eliana, G. 1994). Exploration is encouraged, messiness accepted and sedulousness is the guiding principle. Play therapy is a learning experience and thus limits are not set until they are needed. The limits are worded in such a way that the child is allowed to bring himself under control. Research and ResultsPlay therapy is an burn down base on well thought out, philosophically conceived, developmentally based and research supported approach to assisting children cope with and overcome the problems they experience in life (Bratton. Et al. 2005). It has therefore been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of childrens problems including, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, aggression and acting out, autism, fear and anxiety, grief, hospitalization, learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, withdrawn children and burn victims.In the case studies reported by Landreth, the views that play therapy requires a long-term payload is totally unfounded. Conclusion Play therapy can thus help a child to become aware of his feelings and how those feelings manifest into his/ her behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). He/she learns to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. This combination of skills may help a child to become more assertive, self assured and to have self respect and respect for others. He/she then get this assurance that he/she will be understood and accepted.