Child Therapy : How It Differs From Adult Therapy

Play therapy is a form of therapy where children can’t act out their fantasies and express their feelings or experiences and are simply encouraged to do so through play, abetted by a therapist's interpretations.

If play is a child's language, then toys can be taken as the words. With play therapy the child can resolve their difficulties and concerns utilizing the toys that they pick, exposing their inner thoughts and discussions. With play the child has the ability to check out numerous circumstances and habits in a supportive environment. Genuine favorable regard and approval urges the child to feel safe adequate to be able to discover

10). According to Landreth (2012), “Play therapy… facilitates the development of a safe relationship for the child… to fully express and explore self (feelings, thoughts, experiences, and behaviors) through play, the child’s natural medium of communication, for optimal growth and development”

Another form of therapy for child abuse is called the Abuse-focused cognitive behavioral therapy ( AF-CBT). It involves the children, those who have been physical abused or had severe physical punishment, as well as the offending parent. It teaches the parents and children emotional control to reduce violent conflict. Understanding of family violence, thought/ feelings of abuse, and how-to manager anger/stress are also part of AF-CBT. Parents also focus on self-regulation, and how to manage feelings and reactions, as well as focusing on the responsibility of the abuse. AF-CBT helps the child and parent solve problems, and communicate effectively. The study suggests that a this therapy causes a decrease in parent-to-child violence, parental distress, and abuse risk. After a year, there is family functioning. As well as children experience less physical discipline and fewer problems (Paul, Gray, Elhai, Massad, & Stamm, 2006).

Developmental Therapy Developmental therapy is a profession that precisely looks at how children develop during the most substantial period of development from birth through 5 years (Health School Guide, 2016). Developmental therapists measure a child’s global development and identify specific areas of need and strength (Health School Guide, 2016). The aspects that developmental therapist look for in children include cognitive skills, language and communication, social-emotional skills and behavior, gross and fine motor skills, and self-help skills (Health School Guide, 2016). Furthermore, they develop play activities aimed to help a child overcome their encounters and improve the quality of their interactions in order to help them gain

Haslam, D., Harris, S. (2011). Integrating Play and Family Therapy Methods: A Survey of Play

Using the historically noted context of the importance of play, many therapists have refined and structured this “natural language” and have been able to facilitate desirable change for a variety of issues. The rest of this paper aims at providing the reader with a proficient overview of play therapy. The benefits, history, credentials, inner workings, and role of the family will be examined. Classical cases, as well as individual case studies, and larger scale findings will be examined, and the role and credentials of the therapist outlined.

“Many traditional family therapists often exclude small children from the therapeutic process” (Wehrman & Field, 2013). Although therapists may feel as though conducting a session with children present can be challenging, it is strongly encouraged to do so. The integrative intervention model of child-based play is an effective method in which therapists should use when treating families. Recent research concludes that the “integration of children and families involved in counseling will benefit the family when all family members are present” (Wehrman & Field, 2013). Results of this method of therapy provide therapeutic change for families in their communication and relationships.

I found this chapter to be very informative and another good resource for learning about the different types of play therapy. First, it discussed the directive approach, the toys/materials, and then the skills. It also had a great section for cultural sensitivity, which is very important in all types of therapy. I think both directive and non-directive have pros and cons. Additionally, it is very important to use non-directive first to see were the client is coming from. This is how I start my other forms of therapy as well by using a client-center approach first than gradually moving towards becoming more directive if needed. It is also important based on why the client is being brought in for play therapy. Play therapy is the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process in which play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth (Kottman, 2011). This is done by using directive or non-directive play. Both types of play therapy are important and I will discuss this below.

Child Centered Play Therapy allows for nondirective therapy sessions. The relationship between the child and the clinician are the primary focus of treatment in CCPT. This relationship is the means through which a child experiences change (Robinson, 2011). In the present case, the clinician accepts the client’s need to express aggression through war play. The client is allowed a space in which to express this emotion without

When a child has experienced a crisis or trauma, the play therapist should consider intensive play therapy in which the child is scheduled for play therapy sessions two or three times a week for the first two weeks in order to speed up the therapeutic process (Landreth, 2012).

Play therapy is a developmentally sensitive intervention where the therapist takes into account not only the chronological age of the child, but their developmental stage too. As it is common for children to regress in play to younger stages, it is important that the therapist is attuned to this through active listening and observation and supports the child in reverting back to any early experiences through the use of sensory or symbolic play. It would benefit children who have experienced abuse, neglect, have learning difficulties, suffer depression, are withdrawn or extremely anxious or fearful of present with socially unacceptable behavior to name but a few (Rye,

Thank you for your feedback and questions. First, I think that it is great to practice what we are learning. Play therapy has many different uses and would be applicable with elementary students' developmental level. Secondly, I'm not with you and cannot observe you or even know how to fully use it myself yet, as we are all learning. I think we just need to keep practicing and using what works for our own style and be willing to try new things that work for the students as well. However, play therapy focuses on reducing symptoms and removing barriers to support students' development (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Some goals that play therapy addresses include building self-confidence, learning about self and others, expressing and identifying feelings, encourage good decision making, practice responsibility or control, exploration of different views, and learning skills such as problem-solving or relationship skills (Henderson & Thompson, 2011).

The origin of play therapy, a type of psychotherapy can be traced back to Sigmund Freud. Play therapy has an array of different modalities . Such modalities include structured play therapy, unstructured play therapy, and filial play therapy. Structured play therapy, developed by Freud, is a form of play therapy where the therapist is in charge of the therapy process. Structured play therapy has a psychoanalytic approach and is characterized by a belief that play has therapeutic value to children. Unstructured play therapy, also referred to as nondirective play therapy and client-centered play therapy, is built upon the client-centered approach of Carl Rogers. Unstructured play therapy is characterized by a therapy that is child-directed

“In the playroom, toys, games and activities are used like words. Children are provided therapeutic toys to enable them to say with the toys what they have difficulty saying with words…. They can use dolls, puppets, paints, or other toys to say what they think or how they feel. “(Reilly & Allmaras, 2002) Watching what a child does while they are playing can give specific insight about what is really bothering them. Sometimes play therapy shows the issues that children don’t know how to say. Play is a universal way of communication. A lot of the time while playing the child will “play” like the situation they are in. Many times if children are being abused, the toys they play with will be beating up another toy. “According to the Association for Play Therapy, play therapy can help trained therapists help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development” (Naderia F, Heidarie A, Bouron P, & Asgari P, 2010) With play therapy children can face the main issue behind their anxiety so that the therapist can find the root