What is play therapy? Child psychotherapy and Humanism
You have probably heard play therapy many times and it has even become an everyday term; It is believed that it only consists of playing to distract, de-stress, etc., however, it goes much further. In this article, we will learn a little about its objective, what it is about and what are the main problems it addresses.
Humanism and play therapy
We will begin by explaining that play therapy arises from Humanism. Which is a theoretical approach to psychology. It points a lot to the ability of the human being to solve problems, coupled with that tendency to be able to achieve their objectives without the need to be told what to do.
This is why play therapy has the main premise of not being directive, but allowing children to explore and the therapist will be a companion who helps them understand everything about themselves, the reason for their actions, emotions and thoughts. , supporting the idea that we already mentioned about self-decision, where the child is given the opportunity to express himself freely in space, using what he wants for what he wants. It is then that in each act, the child will be expressing emotions and thoughts that the therapist will be reflecting through words.
It should be noted that this process is not simple, it requires a lot of experience, as well as
certain norms within coexistence. The game is used as an extremely valuable tool.
This allows you to feel in a natural environment, without pressure, and with possibilities.
Once they are in this process, the therapist follows him in his decisions, at no time does he avoid the freedom or judge the playing action, on the contrary, he only reflects what he is looking at. This type of therapy also seeks freedom, self-knowledge in children. It is one of the most beautiful approaches since it puts the patient as the center of attention, that is, not so much her behavior, but self-knowledge, where the child’s maturation and her own recognition are sought. It can also be a technique that allows those children who feel strange or uncomfortable in the presence of people they do not know, to gain confidence easily and create a fun process while their emotional health is being worked on.
What problems can play therapy address?
Play therapy is usually preferred to address those cases where the child avoids talking about some topics that are difficult even for adults to
start a conversation. To a greater extent, it is usually useful when they have gone through some important or traumatic event, aspects such as grief over the loss of a loved one, divorces, accidents, depression, night terrors, and cases of anger.
What child would not like to have playdates? In this sense, most children will enjoy it a lot, more if we talk about small children. As for the issues that it can address as such, we will consider it as an approach that could address any issue.
We hope that this article will be very helpful in making the best decision for your little one and his emotional health.
Source: The magic of children. Child psychotherapy by Guadalupe Amescua Villela.
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