If adults have words, children have toys and games. Children are not as successful as adults in understanding and expressing their emotions, and their cognitive capacities may not always be sufficient for this. That's why children express themselves best in games. They tell us through metaphor that I am experiencing these, I feel them.
Because children have difficulty in making sense of their own emotions, the therapy method applied to adults is not suitable for children below a certain level of development. In play therapy, children express their needs using games and toys. We can say that play therapy for children has the same meaning as psychological counseling for adults. As a tool, the therapist uses play, which is the child's most natural way of expressing himself. The play therapist encourages the child to play as he/she wants by creating a safe environment and bonding with the child, and encourages the child to open up and express himself. In short, play itself is intervention in play therapy. Children repeat and restructure their emotions, namely anger, fear, sadness, disappointment, which affect their behavior as part of their experiences during the game. The therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the child is the most important factor that makes children feel safe when they create a game that reflects their stressful and intense emotional experience.
With the support of play therapy, children can create games that bring together the emotional events they struggle with in their own world. Usually, the child cannot express these experiences verbally. In the therapy room, there are specially selected toys suitable for the child that can reflect every emotional state. The child chooses toys that reflect the emotional problems appropriate for the game he will create and creates his game. With the sessions, the game develops and continues until it provides understanding and comfort about the problem. In the process of play therapy, the child can change their perspectives and behaviors about events and enjoy their relationships and communication with others. The child has the opportunity to change these experiences during the game by recreating the disappointments during the game, restructures their experiences so that they can enjoy both the gaming experiences and the relationship exchanges in life.
The therapy process depends on a wide variety of factors regarding the past and present events of the child. Two important factors are the developmental age of the child and the age of the trauma if any trauma has occurred. Since the child will go to the trauma period, the sooner the therapy comes after the event, the shorter the therapy period will be.
One of the most important factors in play therapy is the contribution of the family. The conversation between the parent or caregiver(s) and the therapist continues on a regular basis. It is important that parents cooperate with the therapist. The therapist sometimes invites the family to play if he sees fit. In addition, the therapist gives families advice that will help their children's recovery process during therapy and that they can apply outside the therapy room. Thus, not only the child but also the parent receives support from an outside expert on parenting issues.
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