Child Play Therapy
Play Therapy
Therapy for children is unlike therapy for adults. Play therapy is a process between the child and the therapist where play is the primary medium and speech is secondary for the child.
Game Therapy
In game therapy, the therapist has created games in which the questions pertain to the child's life. Through playing the game, the child answers the questions which gives the therapist insight to the inner feelings within the child. As the child rolls the dice, selects a question, answers the question, their inner feelings are being processed. At times, children often relate to a particular question and talk about that question to the therapist for a lengthy time before proceeding with the game. Therefore, feelings are revealed and children are in a unique environment where they feel unconditional positive regard while expressing their internal feelings. This is difficult in conventional talk therapy where children do not want to talk about their feelings, and feel uncomfortable in doing so. This kind of therapy works well with pre-teens and teenagers.
Child-centered game therapy provides children a time to "talk" about their feelings, and with the help of the therapist, processes these feelings.
This "relationship approach" helps children with a variety of problems, some including:
- bullying
- divorce and the effects upon the child
- difficulties in vistitation from either the mothers or the fathers house
- keeping and maintaining friends
- self-harm
- refusing to attend school
- suddenly withdrawn
- violent towards adults
- bereavement
- loss of a parent
- witnessing domestic abuse
- having experienced a trauma
Doll House Therapy
This is an excellent therapy for children preschool age... as well as pre-teens. Through the use of the "dollhouse", the children build a house that is similar to their house or the house that they grew up in. They select furniture from the boxes of miniatures that come close to the furniture that is in their house. The children also select the figures that represent their own family members. The child guides the play by selecting the play figures that they want to represent and which play figures that they want the therapist to represent. With the therapist on the floor beside the child, interacting with them, usually within 15 minutes of play time, the child is tearing up with emotions and processing unfinished business that occurred earlier in their lives. Emotions rise and information processed that otherwise would not be revealed. This kind of play therapy is very powerful and much more effective than talk therapy.