PLAY THERAPY

Children 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 childs 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

childs 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)

Lets 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 childrens 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 childrens 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
Childrens 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

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 Tessas 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.
2.
3.
4.

Drawing What Happened

Drawing of Self in Relation to Trauma
Experience
Drawing of the Body of the Victim
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 childs 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/educationprogramscertificat
e

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 Childrens 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 childrens 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 Tessas drawing as an example)
Your drawing should be reminiscent of a childs work try
to create a drawing that would represent a traumatic event
in a childs 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