Included Play Therapy briefing

1. CHILD
COUNSELING
P L AY T H E R A P Y

2. CHILD COUNSELING
 Child counseling is a type of therapy that focuses
on young children, teens, and adolescents with one
or more mental illnesses.
 It also provides aid to youths, who have
experienced trauma, and/or who are experiencing a
dysfunctional or stressful home environment.
 Many of the issues these children face mimic the
issues adults face in their day-to-day lives.
 Some of these common issues include anxiety,
depression, and grief.
 The goal of child counseling, however, is to break
down problems into manageable parts, so children
can better understand and cope with them.

3. WHO ARE CHILD COUNSELORS?

4. WHO ARE CHILD COUNSELORS? CONT.
 Child counselors are mental health specialists, who
offer invaluable insight into your child’s social and
emotional development and mental health.
These individuals have the knowledge and expertise to
recognize, identify, pinpoint, assess, diagnose, and
treat a wide range of mental health conditions,
adjustment issues (divorce, new school, bullying, grief,
etc.), and psychological distress.
More specifically, child counselors, also sometimes
referred to as child therapists and child psychologists
(depending on the level of education and licensure),
have been trained to “get into the minds of children,”
so they can help them make sense of what is going on
in their minds, bodies, and lives.

5. THERAPY FOR CHILDREN:
PLAY THERAPY
Play therapy is to children what counseling is to
adults.
Play therapy utilizes play, children's natural medium
of expression, to help them express their feelings
more easily through toys instead of words.
The systematic use of a theoretical model to
establish an interpersonal process wherein trained
play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play
to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial
difficulties and achieve optimal growth and
development.

6. CHILD-CENTERED PLAY THERAPY
(CCPT)
Garry Landreth
In play therapy, toys are like the child's words and
play is the child's language.

7. 10 BASIC TENETS ABOUT CHILDREN
1. … are not miniature adults…think and act differently from adults.
2. … are people…capable of intense emotions & complicated thoughts.
3. … are unique and worthy of respect…possesses an individual personality and will.
4. … are resilient…able to persevere beyond adult understanding.
5. … have an inherent tendency toward growth and maturity.
6. … are capable of positive self-direction.
7. … ‘s natural language is play…safest and most comfortable way to express themselves.
8. … have a right to remain silent…operate most expressively in a nonverbal world.
9. … will take the therapeutic experience to where they need to be…no need for the
counselor to direct the experience.
10. … ‘s growth cannot be sped up…cannot be directed by an adult.

8. TOYS IN PLAY THERAPY
Toys provide children with symbols for expression and
communication.
As such, toys for use in play therapy should be carefully,
intentionally selected, not merely collected.
Toys should be durable and communicate "go for it" rather
than "be careful."
A wide variety is great where possible.
Competitive games, battery operated toys, toys that require
adult assistance, and toys with movie/TV tie-ins should be
avoided.

9. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING TOYS:
Does it facilitate a wide range of emotional expression?
Does it facilitate a wide range of creative expression?
Does it engage children's interests?
Does it facilitate expressive and exploratory play?
Does it allow exploration and expression with or without verbalization?
Does it foster mastery without a prescribed structure?

10. CATEGORIES OF TOYS
Real-life/ Nurturing
Creativity
Scary
Aggressive
Imaginative/Fantasy

11. CATEGORIES OF TOYS (1)
1. Real-Life / Nurturing: These toys facilitate exploration of family and community roles, as well as
clinical work related to relationships and themes of nurturing and control.
Samples:
Doll house / family
Baby doll, clothes, bottle, diapers
Animal families
Soft blanket
Medical kit
People puppets
Play kitchen, dishes, pots, play food
Phones, cash-register and money

12. CATEGORIES OF TOYS (2)
2. Scary: These toys allow children to express, explore and resolve fears and explore
themes of power, powerlessness, and fear.
Samples:
Snakes
Rats
Monsters
Fierce dinosaurs
Dragons
Scary animal puppets

13. CATEGORIES OF TOYS (3)
3. Aggressive: These toys facilitate children's expression and resolution of anger and
aggression, as well as clinical work related to trauma and themes of power, control,
and fear.
Samples:
Weapons – knives, guns, swords
Military figures
Handcuffs
Bop-bag

14. CATEGORIES OF TOYS (4)
4. Pretend / Fantasy: These toys allow children to explore and express a range of
emotions, explore roles, replay or imagine situations, and experiment with alternative
behaviors and outcomes. Useful with a wide range of themes.
Samples:
Dress up clothes & accessories
Magic wand
Doctor kit
Sand tray & figures

15. CATEGORIES OF TOYS (5)
5. Creative / Expressive: These toys facilitate expression of a wide range of feelings, help develop
a sense of mastery, and involve practice with problem solving, frustration tolerance and
creativity. Useful with a wide range of themes.
Samples:
Paints, crayons, markers
Glue / tape
Play-doh, clay, blocks
Finger paints, shaving cream
Scissors,
Paper (multiple colors)
Musical instruments
Pipe cleaners, egg cartons

16. PLAY THERAPY ROOM

17. PLAY THERAPY ROOM
What thoughts do
you have based
on the examples
of the playroom
pictures???

18. PERSONAL QUALITIES OF A PLAY
THERAPIST (1)
1. Like children and treat them with kindness and
respect.
2. Have a sense of humor and be willing to laugh at
himself or herself.
3. Be playful and fun-loving.
4. Be self-confident and not dependent on the
positive regard of others for a sense of self-worth
5. Be open and honest
6. Be flexible and able to deal with a certain level of
ambiguity.

19. PERSONAL QUALITIES OF A PLAY
THERAPIST (2)
7. Be accepting of other’s perceptions of reality
without feeling threatened or judgmental
8. Be willing to use play and metaphors to
communicate.
9. Be comfortable with children and have experience
interacting with them.
10. Be able to firmly and kindly set limits and
maintain personal boundaries.
11. Be self-aware and open to taking interpersonal
risks and exploring his or her own personal
issues.

20. LOGISTICS ASPECTS OF PLAY
THERAPY
1. Set up a space for therapy
2. Choosing & arranging toys
3. Explaining the Play Therapy process – Parents
& Children
4. Handling the initial session
5. Ending each session
6. Assessing patterns in children behavior in the
playroom
7. Writing session Reports
8. Terminating PT

21. SKILLS IN PLAY THERAPY
1. Tracking / Penjejakan
2. Restating Contents / Penyataan Semula
3. Reflecting Feeling / Refleksi Perasaan
4. Returning responsibility / Memulangkan
5. Setting Limits / Menetapkan Had

22. THEMES IN PLAY THERAPY
• Repetitive
• Intensity
• Context