Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Emotional And Psychological Benefits Of Play Therapy

By Matthew McDonald


When it comes to emotional and mental health issues, individuals have a lot of options when it comes to treatment. While this is the case, play therapy often works best for children. At the same time, there are more severe conditions which might require the assistance of a psychologist or psychiatrist.

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.

Playtime can also assist children in developing mastery with regards to identifying and bringing innate gifts to the service, which often leads to a stronger sense of self-worth and pride. In addition, play dates and long periods of individual play can assist children explore, discover and become more comfortable in different environments.

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 engage in play in order to work through anxieties and emotional blocks. As a result, play oriented therapy then becomes a self-help mechanism which the child can use on an ongoing basis. While this is the case, a child must be allowed to play freely and without structure before any results can be seen with regards to the self-help process.

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.

While not labeled until the 1950s, 60s and 70s, this type of therapy has been around since Plato's time. In fact, Plato was the first to recognize the importance of playing. For, it was the great philosopher whom suggested that an hour of playtime could tell more about an individual than an hour long conversation.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment