“A Child’s Play Is His Talk and Toys Are His Words.” – Ginott
The game is the natural language of all children.
When they are offered an environment full of toys, puppets, buildings, musical instruments and books, their anxiety decreases as well as their resistance to change. At the same time, they increase their opening to learning new skills and the practice of new coping, or new strategies in the face of problems. This as their general sense of mastery and competence is encouraged.
During the initial stages of the therapy with a child who has undergone a traumathe access and exploration of disturbing material should be well calibrated to minimize the discomfort of the child’s system and maximize stabilization.
The best practice of Play Therapy The intersubjectivity is focused on safety (Bowlby, 1980) (Trevarthen, 1989), The social engagement system (Porges, 2011), The game and joy (Panksepp, 2009).
Through the observation of game sessions it is possible to detect the personal way of dealing, by the child, the new situations presented, his way of keeping the primary attachment relationships in mind, the meanings that he attributes to himself, to others and the world.
Attempts to face traumatic events in a child’s life through strictly verbal processing can leave intact and weeds of traumatic experience.
There ludotherapy It combines kinesthetic involvement with the story of what happened to integrate the thoughts, feelings and somatic reactions with verbal narrative, to eliminate emotional toxicity from the event so that it can become part of the child’s history, without being overwhelmed every time.
The game and exploration system
By working with this system, game opportunities, irony, humor and laughter are provided, this improves the ability of the child and those who take care of him to experiment and tolerate positive emotions, experiencing moments of closeness and connection.
Play Therapy: when and how
It is possible to integrate the Play therapy trauma Within evidence-based therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy focused on trauma (TF-CBT) and EMDR therapy.
The following indications can serve as general criteria to incorporate the playing trauma:
- The child suffered early trauma and grew up in deprived environments;
- The child presents trauma of the attachment, it is not possible for him to feel safe and shows scarce relational resources;
- The child is unable to explore traumatic memories and turns off or becomes hyperativated;
- The child shows a compromise of the social engagement system.
Play trauma sessions have the aim of increasing the ability of emotional tuning, connection and synchrony within the interactive exchange with the child.
Game activities can be used both as a state change strategy and as opportunities for experimentation with positive affections, regulation and connection.
Good practice strategies in Play Therapy
It is important:
- Give importance to the sense of safety and protection of the child;
- Evaluate the main coping strategies used, promoting other more adaptive and functional ones;
- Calm the physiology and improve self -regulation ability, for example, through the possibility of having parents as “calming partners”, promoting the safety of attachment, emotional regulation and the sense of self -esteem of the child;
- Increase emotional literacy to allow the child to access and better understand emotional lived staff;
- Propose gradual exhibitions to the traumatic material, for example through diadic dance, thus allowing the child to approach and move away from the traumatic memory;
- Create a positive meaning on post-trauma itself.
The game and expressive therapies can be used to build a coherent narrative, mitigate the approach to frightening content, teach and practice new skills, improve emotional regulation, decrease anxiety, regulate anger and stress, promote a positive inner dialogue, develop pro-social skills and improve the qualities of attachment ties.
“Words are a way of understanding but not the only one to understand what happens inside”.
Bibliography
- Gomez AM, 2020. EMDR therapy
- Goodyear Brown P., 2021. Parent As Partners in Child Therapy.
- Goodyear Brown P., 2019. Trauma and play therapy.
- Goodyear Brown P., 2010. Play Therapy in Traumatized Children.
