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Sunday, April 28, 2019

Emotional And Psychological Benefits Of Play Therapy

By Matthew McDonald


Therapy is one of a number of processes used in treating mental conditions. While adults often seek out a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist, play therapist and play therapy are often better options for children. For, this type of therapy has now been acknowledged as one of the best options for three to eleven years, especially when dealing with issues related to brain development.

The practice generally involves children ages three through eleven and provides a method for these young individuals to express experiences and feelings in a safe, self guided healing process. As children often communicate through play, playtime can often become an important aspect of life in which a child learns about oneself and others.

Play can also help children develop master skills when it comes to conquering innate abilities, thus leading to a sense of pride and self-worth. As children are driven to meet the essential need of exploration of an environment, playtime can often assist in this goal as well.

Playing can also contribute to the advancement and development of critical thought which can have major benefits when it comes to school and homework. In addition, it is often through playing with others that a child learns to display strong emotional responses and sentiments, many which can provide a feeling of relief. Most often, children do this through fantastical play which is not normally accepted in society at large.

This type of therapy is actually a valid form of psychotherapeutic counseling which can help people, especially children in preventing and resolving a number of psychosocial challenges. The goal is to help children become more comfortable with social interaction, development, growth, emotional health and overcoming different types of trauma.

Play oriented therapists can also identify the cause of emotional issues and setbacks by watching a child during playtime. In doing so, therapists often observe a child playing with different types of toys to determine any unusual or disturbing behavior. After which, a therapist generally meets with parents to determine which type of treatment would be best moving forward.

According to several sources, children will often engage in playing to overcome anxiety and emotional blockages. In doing so, this type of therapy becomes a self-help mechanism, especially when children are allowed unstructured play for long periods at a time. At the same time, there can be a need for a parent or therapist to interact and take control of a situation, especially when a child shows signs of distress.

A good example of this type of conversion from non-directed to directed playtime would be when a therapist uses a type of form of therapy to change troubling behavior. In most cases, therapists using this approach are hopeful that the desensitization will take place and lead to positive treatment and outcomes. Whereas, there are also times when the approach can backfire and a therapist must seek out other methods in order to eliminate negative behaviors.

Ultimately, playing has been recognized as a therapeutic tool since the time of Plato from 429 to 347 B. C., so basically since the beginning of time. For, Plato observed that individuals can learn more about a person in an hour of playtime than in a year of conversation. While this is the case, current therapies of this nature only became popular in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, though the popularity will most likely continue to carry forward well into the future.




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