PLAY THERAPYChildren and Psychological Treatments

INTRODUCTION

Read the article titled ‘Helping Children Draw out their Traumas’ as an introduction into the lesson on children and psychology – behaviour and cognition treatments

LEARNING GOALS:

I can explain differences in treatments within psychology for children vs. adults

I know the use and application of play therapy as a form of treatment within psychology

I can understand the advantages and disadvantages of play therapy techniques

I can analyze art therapy as a form of play therapy using specific criteria

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Why do you think it is necessary to tailor psychological/cognitive treatments for children?

What kinds of trauma might a child go through that will cause them anxiety, grief, aggression or other maladaptive behaviours?

What techniques do you think a psychologist/behaviourist/therapist could employ to try to understand the child’s feelings and ease the trauma they may have suffered?

WHAT IS PLAY THERAPY?

Play therapy is beneficial to any child who is experiencing difficulties in the home, school or community

It is one therapeutic method through which a child can effectively deal with their problems Uses child’s natural medium of self expression Child can ‘play out’ his/her feelings and problems Develop a relationship with child Assists child with overall development Ensures a place of safety and respect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ovwAdxCs0

PLAY THERAPY CAN BE DIRECTIVE OR NON-DIRECTIVE

Non-Directive: also called client-centered and unstructured play therapy Examines cognitive behaviour and

developmental stages – broad, general development of child

Directive: Is child centered, psychoanalytic – situation specific, highly guided and structured Guided by the notion that using directives to

guide the child through play will cause a faster change than is generated by nondirective play therapy

The therapist plays a much bigger role in directive play therapy

APPLICATIONS OF PLAY THERAPY TECHNIQUES

How can the following institutions or situations employ aspects of play therapy? Families Hospitals Cognitive Behaviour Treatments Language Development Grief/Loss Anxiety Child with Autism

TYPES OF PLAY

Therapeutic Story Telling: - often use puppets, sandbox, or other props to create stories/metaphors

Art Therapy: - designed to utilize non-verbal communication to prompt discussion or identification of issues – can stimulate conscious and unconscious thoughts/memories

Play Therapy - Toys, Games, Crafts, Music: drama/dress-up, doll house/family figures – act out roles and situations based on experiences

ARTICLE:

Using Drawing as Intervention with Traumatized Children

Cathy A. Malchiodi, ATR, LPAT, LPCC http://

www.tlcinst.org/drawingintervention.html

How do you know if this article is credible and academic?

What is the overview of this article? (abstract)

Let’s dissect the important information from the article…

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Introduction: Drawing is a form of communication that appeals

to children Way to express feelings/thoughts in a manner

that is less threatening than strictly verbal means

Helps to externalize emotions and events too painful to speak out loud

Is one of the only means of conveying the complexities of painful experiences, repressed memories, or unspoken fears, anxieties, or guilt

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Drawings: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Psychologists, educators, and others have tried

to determine whether or not children’s drawings reveal their thoughts, feelings, and psychological well-being

What do you think are some advantages of art/play therapy?

What could be some difficulties of using aspects of play therapy in assessing children’s actions, emotions, and cognition?

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Drawings as Intervention: Drawing has become a recognized form of therapy

with children and has been used in the treatment of children who have been physically or sexually abused or exposed to domestic violence, have emotional disorders, or have medical conditions

Children’s art could be used as means of communication between therapist and child and believed that his young patients wanted to be active participants in their treatment.

The value of drawing in helping children express their problems and world-views - drawings can be a catalyst for increased interaction and interchange, thus expanding the effectiveness and depth of the relationship between clinician and child.

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Working with Physically or Sexually Abused Children

Case Example: TESSA A six year old girl, Tessa, who was suspected of

sexual abuse was referred for an evaluation. The protective service worker who initially handled her intake observed that Tessa was verbally communicative, but hesitant to discuss who in her household may have abused her. Like many children who have been sexually maltreated, Tessa was guarded about the details of her abuse and found it difficult to talk about openly.

CASE EXAMPLE: TESSA Here is an example of Tessa’s picture:

What stands out to you in this picture? How did the therapist find out what was

happening to Tessa?

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Specific Drawing Tasks for Trauma Debriefing and Intervention: It is important to accept that children who have

been traumatized do need and want to relate the terror of their experiences.

For many years it was believed that children should not be asked to talk about these traumatic memories for fear of re-traumatization.

However, it is now known that it is important to the recovery process to provide children with ways to express their apprehension and worries and to provide sensory experiences that mobilize the expression of these feelings in a structured manner.

TYPES OF DRAWING TASKS:

1. Drawing “What Happened”2. Drawing of Self in Relation to Trauma

Experience3. Drawing of the Body of the Victim4. Completing a Pre-structured “Body Outline”

ARTICLE: USING DRAWING AS INTERVENTION WITH TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN

Overall Considerations:. a simple drawing can be helpful in communicating feelings

and experiences and that putting these images on paper will assist the child in overcoming painful emotions and memories

it is important that the clinician be as curious as possible about all elements of the drawing. Asking about everything in a drawing demonstrates to the child that you are interested in his or her creation

questions will mobilize new information to surface and clarify for you what the child intended to express in the drawing

ask the child about what is not included in the drawing drawing is not a panacea for trauma; drawing interventions

will only be helpful if the therapist understands how to sensitively ask about the child’s experiences

before using any drawing intervention the therapist or counselor should personally try the task and experience what it is like to use the activity

PLAY THERAPY AS A CAREER

Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy http://

www.cacpt.com/site/www/educationprogramscertificate

ART THERAPY AS A CAREER

CATA – Canadian Art Therapy Association http://catainfo.ca/cata/study-at/

Toronto Art Therapy Institute http://www.tati.on.ca/

PLAY THERAPY ACTIVITY – YOUR TURN

Success Criteria: Read the article titled ‘Analysis of Children’s

Drawings’ Http://www.liftingtheveil.org/drawing.htm

From the information in the article, copy out the meanings and symbols the author talks about as being important to analyzing children’s drawings (i.e. tears…)

Use the supplies provided (paper and pencils) to create a drawing based on the symbols and meanings from the article. (Use Tessa’s drawing as an example)

Your drawing should be reminiscent of a child’s work – try to create a drawing that would represent a traumatic event in a child’s life.

You will share your with a small group and they will try to interpret/analyze what the drawing is trying to convey by asking probing questions about your work