Expressive Therapy Approaches

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

Often, elementary school counselors are reluctant to suggest play therapy and have perceived barriers to its efficacy. This study surveyed 259 members of the American School Counselor Association about those barriers to implementing play therapy, and the potential solutions that could be used to overcome any reluctance. The typical barriers are logical: training, administration, time, resources, and space. It is not that the counselors as a whole do not believe in play therapy, it is that they cannot always find appropriate resources to implement the tool. The study raises the awareness that in the contemporary school in which budgets and resources are extremely tight, more training, educating faculty and administrators, and even using alternative or personal funds to purchase play therapy materials are often necessary to help students.

     Today many people seek professional therapy or counseling for a limited amount of time in order to deal with different life crises. Others seek professional help for the majority of their lives in order to deal with a psychological disorder. After reading this chapter on Therapy, I learned that this was not always the case, and that the way our society views therapy, and the meaning of therapy, has changed dramatically of the years. This chapter not only explains the evolution of therapy, it explores the different therapeutic approaches.

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients by Irvin D. Yalom could be described as a timeless book of tips for practicing therapists as well as patients. Dr. Yalom takes a very candid look at therapy from the viewpoint of the therapist while empathizing with the client. He has employed the use of common sense to a very complex field of study to aid in the enhancement of his beloved craft.

Schaefer and Drewes address in their book how to implement a play therapy program in school settings, play-based prevention programs, individual play therapy approaches as well as group play and play therapy with special needs children, such as mute, homeless and autistic children. They also discuss cognitive-behavioral play therapy, trauma-focused group work and training teachers to use play therapy. The two experts talk about how play is not only essential for promoting normal child development, but how it also has many therapeutic powers as well. All of these therapies require the formation of a therapeutic relationship along with some sort of medium to exchange the therapy between the child and the therapist. The general use of play helps

Play therapy was presented in class by Kallie Kraweitz, who was a guest speaker. Ms. Kraweitz is in the process of completing her online Education in Counseling and Play therapy from University of Mississippi. She is not an expert in the subject but she is currently in the program and she came to share some basic information that she has learned in her course work and also the experiences that she has acquired during her journey in the course. She defined play therapy as “the systematic use of theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapist use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychological difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development” ( Kallie & Make a

The empathic response includes the key elements of a client’s feelings, emotions, and moods to express in verbal and nonverbal cues. The therapist then identifies variety perspectives of the client’s feelings that are revealed in a counseling session for accuracy. The therapist takes the emotion of the client into consideration for gaining a connection with them. Sometimes, the client’s mood can provide a better understanding of the message given, nonverbally. The therapist has to be careful about detecting the client’s emotional intensity for determining the client’s feeling; therefore, it is expressed in a message along with an analysis of the client nonverbal behavior. The empathic response consists of naming, labeling, restating the client’s experiences, explaining their relation to the client’s feelings, and respectful nonverbal signs. According to client’s cultural difference, the counselor has to be extremely delicate in naming and labeling the emotions. The therapist restates the client’s experiences by confirming the interpretation of the message that is given

The principal goal of emotion-focused therapy is to “help clients access and process their emotional experiences and construct new meanings and ways of being in the world” (Watson et al., 2011, p. 273). Emotion-focused therapy draws upon the optimism that is distinctly characteristic of humanistic tradition (Cain, 2010). It is surmised, “that the individual has within himself the capacity and the tendency, latent if not evident, to move forward toward maturity…to understand those aspects of his life and of himself which are causing him pain and dissatisfaction” (Rogers, 1961, p. 35). With specific regard to

Expressive therapy can be done in a group setting. In an article by Poppy Moon, it was suggested to start a session with the rules and expectations

Expressive arts therapy is different from the traditional psychotherapy which a nonverbal therapy. It is using the multiple disciplines such as dance, drama, music, poetry and visual arts form approach for facilitating growth and healing. It is within the context of psychotherapy, counseling, rehabilitation, or medicine and its combine psychology approaches to psychotherapy for healing people, as well it benefits for all age’s group people who are not good to present himself or herself.

Child psychiatrists and psychologists have long assumed that playtime can be utilized for children to learn, connect, provide reassurance, calm anxiety, and, perhaps, improve self-esteem. Play is an enjoyable activity that elevates spirits and expands the chance for self-expression, selfrealization, and self-efficacy. It regulates emotion, boosts one’s ego, and attaches individuals to each other in a positive way (Landreth, 2002). Some of the well-known thinkers of all time, including Plato and Aristotle, have reflected on the significance of play in human happiness and well-being. Moreover, the results of many studies indicate that play as a therapeutic procedure is a practical, effective, and safe intervention for children experiencing a broad range of mental and behavioral disorders, including Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) (Schaefer, 1993; Carmichael, 2006). Play therapy builds on the natural way through which children learn about themselves and their relationships in the world around them. The concrete objects (e.g. toys, art, etc.) used, as well as the play-based experiences provided in play therapy, afford an age-appropriate and emotionally safe means for ADHD children to express and deal with their difficult experiences. As a result, play therapy is currently practiced by thousands of clinicians to treat their young clients.

Expressive arts therapy is the use of art modalities, creative process, and aesthetic experience in a therapeutic context. It is a therapy of the imagination (McNiff, 1992). Effective communication is an essential element in therapeutic relationships and, although verbal language is the most conventional means of conveying information, other forms can convey just as much as words. The arts are an alternative form of communication that has recently received recognition for their value in therapeutic settings. There is a long well-established connection between the arts and psychology. Expressive arts therapy builds on a natural, complimentary relationship between the two disciplines. As a formal therapy, this form is relatively new with its

• Therapist is seeking to help a person live their feelings rather than talk about them • To live the moment rather than describe it in a detached way

Almost every theoretical orientation has adapted the use and techniques of expressive arts therapy in some way. Humanistic psychology, for example, emphasizes the importance of play, creativity, and spontaneity. The creative process is intrinsic to self-actualization. Self-actualization makes life more meaningful and enhances abilities,