Professional Documents
Culture Documents
•Redbook article
•TV Statistic:
•52,000 murders by age 18
•(Ethan closing his eyes crying, “Change it, daddy, change it.
•Redbook’s report
•In an article in American Psychologist… “Children
suffer more victimization than do adults…”
“Are Kids Growing Up too
Fast?” “Children are being
shortchanged. We hurry
them toward independence
before they are emotionally
ready. Speeding children into
adulthood not only makes
this world unsafe for them,
but it is also a national
tragedy with serious
consequences. Television, the
nation’s leading baby-sitter,
Dr. Lee Salk
NY University
contributes to this.
“If we really want
children to succeed
and be productive
people, we’ll respect
them as human
beings and let them
grow at their own
pace.”
I. THE CHILD’S WORLD
II. THE CHILD’S WORLD IS UNSAFE
III. CHILDREN NEED COMPASSIONATE COUNSELORS
•U.S. Office of Technology Assessment: 12% of
kids (7.5 million children), are in need of mental
health care.
•In the city, 38.5% psychological disturbance.
•Only 11% received treatment.
•Only 10% of psychiatrists are committed to
working only with kids.
I. THE CHILD’S WORLD
II. THE CHILD’S WORLD IS UNSAFE
III. CHILDREN NEED COMPASSIONATE COUNSELORS
5 deficiencies in preparing psychologists for
working with kids)
1. Too few developmental and clinical child
courses
2. Too little child assessment and therapy
training
3. Too little experience with children within a
variety of settings
4. Too little supervision
5. Too much emphasis on techniques suitable
only for adults
I. THE CHILD’S WORLD
II. THE CHILD’S WORLD IS UNSAFE
III. CHILDREN NEED COMPASSIONATE COUNSELORS
IV. CHILDREN LONG TO BE HEARD
Play Therapy
Children Communicate Through Play
Alfred Adler
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
III. THE THEOLOGY OF PLAY
IV. CALLED TO PLAY
V. THE DEVELOPMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
• Children do communicate through play,
whether or not adults can interpret or
understand the play.
• Six years old Larry
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
Six years old; lived with his mother; parents had split up because father had
physically abused the children and mother.
Larry’s primary presenting problem was separation anxiety; simply refused to leave
his mother’s side. Would not go to school; would not sleep alone.
Family therapy had helped the mother and sister cope with their difficult
experiences and changes, but Larry continued to have problems.
The books to which she had turned for answers also had offered no solutions.
Larry was extremely resistant to entering the playroom at first; then he acquiesced.
He did not speak to [the psychologist] the whole time. But after 6 sessions, his
mother reported an almost complete cessation of the separation difficulties.
Somewhere within the process of being able to express himself in play, Larry
was able to emerge from his fixed place of confusion and hurt and move
toward healing and emotional health. It is unlikely that trying to get Larry to
talk about his troubles would have done any good; indeed, it was unnecessary
since the process of play effectively brought healing. As Larry’s case
illustrates, play is the way children process and express their emotional lives.
Dr. Garry Landreth, director of Center for
Play Therapy at the University of North
Texas: “Children’s play can be more fully
appreciated when recognized as their
natural medium of communication.
Children express themselves more fully
and more directly through self-initiated
spontaneous play than they do verbally
because they are more comfortable with
play.
For children to ‘play out’ their experiences
and feelings is the most natural dynamic
and self-experiences and feelings is the
most dynamic and self-healing process in
which children can engage.”
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
II.THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
•In their book The Power of Play, Frank Caplan and Theresa Caplan
summarize several unique attributes that children find appealing
about play:
•Play is a voluntary activity by nature. In a world full of
requirements and rules, play is refreshing and provides a respite
from everyday tension.
•Play is free from evaluation and judgment from adults. Children
are safe to make mistakes without failure and adult ridicule.
•It encourages fantasy
•It increases interest and involvement
•Play encourages the development of the physical and mental self
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
II.THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
History shows that children of every era have
played
•From the Black Plague of the Middle Ages
•Nazi concentration camp
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
Children not only use play to comfort themselves
but also need play to make sense of and bring some
order to a nonsensical and out-of-control world.
Play forms a valuable bridge between the subjective
and objective.
Erik Erikson
Andrew Conway
I. CHILDREN COMMNICATE THROUGH PLAY
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
III. THE THEOLOGY OF PLAY
IV. CALLED TO PLAY
V. THE DEVELOPMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
•Biological, such as hand-eye movement, expending of
energy, and kinesthetic stimulation;
•Intrapersonal, including a child’s need for function,
mastery over situations, and mastery over conflict;
•Interpersonal, including a child’s practice of separation
and individualization, and learning of social skills; and
•Socio-cultural, where children learn about culture and the
roles of those around them.
Play Therapy 1b
Play as Therapy
I. PLAY THERAPY AS A FOUNDATIONAL TREATMENT
•Sigmund Freud’s
•The Center for Play Therapy at the University of
North Texas is a clearinghouse of play therapy
literature, featuring more than 2000 journal articles
and books about the field.
I. PLAY THERAPY AS A FOUNDATIONAL TREATMENT
Parents or Guardians:
“See Handout”
I. WORKING WITH PARENTS
II. INTIAL MEETING WITH PARENTS
III. THE PLAYROOM AND MATERIALS
IV. THE PLAYROOM
V. WHAT ABOUT TOY WEAPONS IN THE
PLAYROOM?
Do’s and Don’ts of Play Therapy for the
Therapist
Don’t
•Don’t criticize any behavior.
•Don’t praise the child.
•Don’t ask any leading questions.
•Don’t allow interruptions of the session.
•Don’t offer information or teach.
•Don’t preach.
•Don’t initiate new activities.
•Don’t be passive or quiet.
Do’s and Don’ts of Play Therapy for the
Therapist
Do
•Do set the stage.
•Do let the child lead.
•Do track behavior.
•Do reflect the child’s feelings.
•Do set limits.
•Do salute the child’s power and effort.
•Do join in the play as a follower.
•Do be verbally active.