By Leslie H. Petruk, MA, LPC, NCC, Play Therapy Topic Expert Contributor

Click here to contact Leslie and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Play therapy is a counseling method used to help children communicate their inner experiences through the use of toys. Non-directive play therapy, also called child-centered play therapy is a non-pathologizing technique based on the belief that children have the internal drive to wellness. Non-directive play therapists are trained to trust that children are capable to direct their own process rather than the therapist imposing their own ideas of what the child needs to do in therapy to work through any challenges they may be facing. This requires the therapist to enter the emotional world of the child rather then expecting the child to understand the therapist’s world, which is beyond their capability. Play therapy is based on the theory that play is a child’s language, the toys in the play room considered the “words” that a child uses to express their inner experiences and how they perceive and experience the world. The toys in the play room are then used by the child to “speak” to the therapist and communicate their inner thoughts and feelings. Within a play session and over the course of sessions, themes emerge in the child’s play, giving the therapist insight into the child’s experiences, thoughts, feelings and interpretations of their world. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

A recent study by the Center for Disease Control, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is being touted as evidence that some very common treatments for trauma lack empirical evidence of success in helping children and adolescents. The study, which reviewed a small percentage of the available literature, found evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral treatment, but not for six other kinds of therapy, including what may be the most widely used interventions – play and art therapy.

But the data may not be as convincing as the researchers, and especially the mainstream media (http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNewsMolt/idUKN0933795420080909?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true), conclude. Read the rest of this entry

Jennifer Bullock, M.Ed., M.L.S.P.,LPC, NCC

Click here to contact Jennifer and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

In our current over-scheduled, over-pressured world, families are confronting problems they have little capacity to do anything about. We can tend to cope by getting stuck in a narrow range of behaviors and responses even if they are not helpful. A child who has learned to have temper tantrums when she is angry, and her parents who have learned to punish or pamper her, are stuck in maladaptive, non-growthful environments—‘a bad play’. It’s like playing the same part in the same play on the same stage day after day.

A key component in this play is often our children’s behavioral, emotional and leaning difficulties that are so disruptive or dysfunctional – all we want to do is stop it. As parents, educators and fellow child / family therapists, we can understandably respond by focusing on getting rid of the most glaring and painful symptoms. Another way to handle these situations is to focus on development as the key to transforming our lives and our children’s lives—including maladaptive behaviors. Read the rest of this entry