PLAY THERAPY
Play Therapy is frequently sought out to address issues such as:
Defiance
Anger
Adoption
Witnessing trauma
Death of a loved one
Divorce/ separation of parents
Why play therapy?
Children learn to understand the world and their place in it through play. It’s where they feel free to act out their inner feelings and deepest emotions. Toys can act as symbols and take on greater meaning. Since the child can’t adequately express themselves in the adult world, the therapist joins the child in their world, on their level. As they play, the child may become less guarded and more apt to share their feelings when they aren’t pressured and when they’re allowed to do so in their own time and with their own method of communication.
Play therapist can be directive or non-directive in engaging the child in play. Non-directive play therapy, where children lead the play, provides children the space to revisit and rework painful issues at the root level as play is expressed in the safe distance of the pretend realm in the presence of a trained play therapist. Directive play therapy may also be used and occurs with the child alone or with the child and parent together in a specific play activity designed to address/alleviate symptoms, strengthen the parent-child bond and promote secure attachment.
Our approach to treatment:
At Family Nest Counseling we use a play therapy model developed by Dottie Higgins-Klein at the Family and Play Therapy Center in Philadelphia, PA, called Mindfulness-Based Play-Family Therapy (MBPFT). MBPFT is based on the premise that a child’s current state is a result of his/her experience in life to the present time. A four-segment evaluation is included in MBPFT which identifies where in a child’s developmental past growth may have been disrupted which relates to present problems and concerns. Treatment is based on “an understanding of how essential needs that were unmet earlier may be revisited and satisfied well enough to re-establish true developmental balance” (Higgins-Klein, 2013).
What Treatment will look like:
In the MBPFT model, there is a four part evaluation process that occurs over four sessions: the first is with the parents alone to complete intake paperwork and gather a full developmental history on the child; the second is with the child and all members of the household living together and includes a group play activity so the therapist can observe family interactions; the third is with the child and one parent and includes the first non-directive play therapy session; the fourth with parents alone again to gather family history and develop the treatment plan. Following the four-segment evaluation, treatment continues on a schedule of several play therapy sessions followed by a session with parents/caregivers alone for feedback and dialogue on the child’s progress. Parents should plan to take turns bring the child to therapy. The evaluation process maybe altered to accommodate separated or divorced families.
Weekly play therapy sessions, for children ages 3-12, consist of one parent or caregiver and child together with the therapist for the first 15 minutes for ‘talk time’ to discuss what went well and what was problematic about the week, followed by 30- 40 minutes of the child and therapist together in play.
Reference: Higgens-Klien, D., (2013), Mindfulness Based Play Family Therapy -Theory and Practice, WW Norton & Company
https://www.a4pt.org/page/WhyPlayTherapy