Theories in Play Therapy Birds Fly fish swim

Theories in Play Therapy “”Birds Fly, fish swim, and children play”. – Gary Landreth BY AMY BADDING, MS, LMHC, RPT

Child-Centered, Filial, and Group Play Therapy Amy Badding, LMHC, RPT acb@iowacounseling. com

Child-Centered Play Therapy Virginia Axline and Gary Landreth “The therapist toes should follow the child’s nose” § Person-centered theory originally developed by Carl Rogers. § Adapted by Virginia Axline, a student and colleague of Rogers, as a child-centered model of play therapy. § Belief that children can grow and heal when a child focused environment is provided for them, free from an adult’s agenda. § Makes no effort to change the child. § Objectives: self-acceptance, self-awareness, and self-direction.

Child-Centered Play Therapy Gary Landreth and his contribution to the Play Therapy field as it begins to grow and expand world wide. Definition of Play Therapy by Gary Landreth (2002): Play therapy is defined as a dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child and a therapist trained in play therapy procedures who provides selected play materials and facilitates the development of safe relationships for the child to fully express and explore self (feelings, thoughts, experiences, and behaviors) through play, the child’s natural medium of communication , for optimal growth and development. (p. 16)

Child-Centered Play Therapy § Fundamentals of personality, as described by Rogers: § Person (or organism) § Phenomenal field § Self § Child is the focus rather than the presenting problem. § Therapist avoids asking questions and use tracking responses. § Children are encouraged, not praised.

Child-Centered Play Therapy “Toys should be selected not collected”. General guidelines to follow when selecting playroom items: § Toys should provide variety in choice of expression. § Toys should be durable. § Toys should not be complex. § Toys should allow reality testing of limits. § Toys should allow development of positive self-image as well as selfcontrol.

Therapeutic Limit Setting Model (Landreth 2002): Acknowledge the child’s feelings, wishes, and wants. Communicate the limit. Target acceptable alternatives. Purpose of Limits: 1. Define boundaries in therapeutic relationship. 2. Provide security and safety for child 3. Demonstrate therapist’s intent to provide safety for the child 4. Anchors the session to reality. 5. Allow therapist to maintain a positive attitude towards the child. 6. Allows child to express negative feelings without causing harm. 7. Offer stability and consistency. 8. Promote and enhance the child’s sense of selfresponsibility and self-control. 9. Promote catharsis through symbolic channels. 10. Protect the play therapy room. 11. Provide for maintence of legal, ethical, and professional standards.

Child-Centered Play Therapy Role of Parent § § § Parents feel overwhelmed at the beginning. Feel a loss of control. Empathic skills Purpose and process of play therapy. Informed of therapeutic process and routinely interviewed. § May need a referral for their own individual counseling.

Child-Centered Play Therapy Role of Therapist § Facilitator § Encourager § Fellow explorer for the child in the playroom. § Axline’s 8 basic principles (revised by Landreth(2002) § “Objective is to relate to the child in ways that will release the child’s inner directional, constructive, forward moving, creative, and self-healing power”(Landreth & Sweeney, 1997, p. 17)

Case Study 4 year old boy Moved to Iowa from Boston last summer. Dad is a doctor and mom has recently gone back to school for her Master’s Degree. 2 Siblings: brother, age 2 and sister, age 1 Preschool. : Teachers report he is well liked, takes on a leader role, and displays positive interactions with others. Home: Says mean and aggressive things to others, hits younger siblings, doesn’t show emotion when hurting others, and doesn’t listen to parents, is very submissive.

SESSION ONE:

SESSION TWO:

Three valuable resources for the Child-Centered Play Therapist : Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship, by Gary Landreth Play Therapy, by Virgina Axline Dibs In Search of Self, by Virginia Axline

Filial Play Therapy Bernard Guerney Jr. and Louise Guerney § § Bernard Guerny Jr. , Phd, a Rogerian and follower of Virgina Axline. § Child Psychologist in the 1950 and 1960’s § Rutgers University-collaborated with his wife, Louise Guerney. § Frustrated with traditional approaches that focused on parental pathology “rubbing off on children”. Involves parents as the PRIMARY providers of child-centered play therapy.

Filial Play Therapy § Best suited for children ages 3 -10 years. § Generally 10 -12 sessions § Therapist role: § § Instructor § Supervisor § Support Person § Co-change agent Circumstances under which Filial Play Therapy would not be appropriate: § Parents who are incapable of intellectually comprehending the skills. § Parents who are too overwhelmed with their own needs. § Abused children when one of the parents has been the perpetrator.

Filial Play Therapy Stages of Filial Therapy: § Training § Structuring skills § Empathetic listening Skills § Child-centered imaginary play § Limit Setting skills § Putting skills into practice § Home sessions § Transfer and Generalization § Evaluation and Planning for termination

Group Play Therapy Daniel Sweeney and Linda Homeyer “Group play therapy is defined as a dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child and a therapist trained in both play therapy and group procedures, who provides selected play materials and facilitates the development of a safe relationship for children to fully express and explore themselves and others through children’s natural medium of communication, PLAY “ (Landreth, 2002, p. 17).

Difference between Group Play Therapy and Skills Group Play Therapy § § § Lead by the children in the group Focus is on expressing feelings and thoughts through their nondirective play. Unstructured Skills Group § Lead by therapist § Focus is on a skill (i. e. anger control, coping with a loss) § Structured

Group Play Therapy § Children can benefit from group relationships and interactions the same as adults working in group counseling. § Children can learn from each other: § Hear and observe perceptions of therapist and other children toward them. § § Being unique is valued. § Cooperation is promoted. § Creativity and originality are honored. Benefits of Group Play Therapy

Group Play Therapy § Goals of group play therapy § Establish therapeutic relationships § Express emotions § Development of insight § Opportunities for reality testing. § Opportunities for expressing feelings and needs in a more acceptable way. § Group selection and size § Group Play Therapy is NOT for children who are: § Extremely aggressive § Sexually acting out § Have poor attachment § Sociopathic children (intending to inflict harm or revenge) § Children with extremely poor self-image. § Group setting and materials § Length and frequency of sessions

Group Play Therapist Role § § § Therapeutic role is similar to that in individual play therapy. Therapist must have a high tolerance for noise, messiness, and able to handle frequent chaos. Keep responses balanced. Include the child’s name when tracking. Limit-setting Parent Role § Parent role is similar to that of individual play therapy. § Interviewed before any group play sessions. § Ongoing evaluation § Educated about the group process. § Ongoing involvement.

Limits-Setting in Play Therapy Groups: § § § § § Define boundaries Provide safety and security for the child Demonstrates therapist’s intent to keep the child safe. Anchor the session to reality. Allow the child to express negative feelings without causing harm. Offer stability and consistency Promote the enhance the child's sense of responsibility and self control. Protect the play therapy room. Provide maintenance of legal, ethical, and professional standards.

Bibliography Axline, Virginia M. (1969). Play Therapy. New York, NY: Ballentine Books- Random House, Inc. Landreth, Garry (2002). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship: Second Edition. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge. Moustakas, Clark (1997). Relationship Play Therapy. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc. Norton, Ed. D. , Byron E. & Crowell Norton Ed. D. , Carol (1997). Reaching Children Through Play Therapy: An Experiential Approach. Denver, CO: The Publishing Cooperative. Schaefer, Charles (2003). Foundations of Play Therapy. Hovoken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sweeney, Daniel S. , and Linda E. Homeyer (1999). The Handbook of Group Play Therapy: How to Do It, How It Works, Whom It's Best For. 1 st ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Van. Fleet, Rise. (1994, 2005). Filial Therapy: Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships Through Play, Second Edition. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.