What Is Play Therapy?

Game therapy is pushing the research of psychotherapy to the non-verbal realm. The treatment is mainly applicable to aggression, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, disciplinary behavior, social adaptation disorder, thinking disorder, stress syndrome, etc. in children 4-13 years old.

Using games as a medium of communication, a special method of psychotherapy was first sprouted from 1920 to 1930. It was inspired by research on children's psychoanalysis. Child psychoanalyst M. Klein pointed out: "Children have more primitive things deep in their hearts and must be discovered using special analysis techniques. This is the psychology of 'play analysis' Learning methods. Through game analysis, we can discover the depressed experiences and feelings deep inside the child, and we may have a fundamental impact on children's growth and development. "

By the 1950s, some well-known psychologists believed that game therapy was also in line with the spirit of the "comer-centered therapy" founded by C. Rogers. Respecting the child's feelings, allowing the child to freely express their own mind, and establishing a warm and trusting relationship between the healer and the child is very effective in solving the child's psychological growth problem.

In the 1960s, psychologists considered whether to set some "regulations" on children's play therapy to make play therapy more effective, because there is no stipulated "freedom", which will only make children's play activities quite good Let loose or let go. ^[1]

The famous psychologist Billa once divided children's games into four categories. The first type of functional games focuses on the development of physical functions, including hand and foot movements, such as dancing, hide and seek, rope skipping, etc., and mouth and ear movements, such as singing nursery rhymes and storytelling. The second type of experiential games is in the form of things that cannot be achieved in the life of virtual reality. It is generally carried out through the imagination and operation of children, such as playing dolls, playing house, playing computer games, etc. They are fictional games or imaginary games. The third type of acquired games is an artistic game that can develop children's artistic abilities, such as listening to stories, reading books, watching animation, acting, and performing puppet shows. The fourth type of creative games refers to children's own creation under the guidance of adults, such as making crafts, cutting paper, building blocks, etc., which can reflect children's creativity.

In addition, the psychologist Batas has also classified games as follows: one is a solo game, which refers to a game played by a child alone; the other is a bystander, which means that the child is watching the game on the side; the third is a parallel game, which refers to a child In other children's games, do their own games, each doing their own, but synchronized; the four early coordinated joint games. Refers to JI Xuncun chanting Baixiang together to assist in the same Portuguese game.

A behavior correction method designed according to the psychological characteristics and rules of the game. It is a clinical application of psychoanalytic children's game theory. Erikson, a representative of the new psychoanalytic school, developed Freud's thoughts on mastery from a positive perspective. He not only emphasized that games can reduce the compensation and satisfaction of anxiety and desire, but also linked this role of games to personality development. , Highlighting the role of games in self-development. He believes that games can help children acquire competence and sense of success, because games are a childish way of thinking to overcome difficult experiences and gain a sense of mastery. It can be compared with the methods used by adults in dealing with too much experience for adults. Comparable. The target of play therapy is children with various obstacles in their lives due to their inability to do what they want or discomfort. Such as emotional disorders, motor dysfunction, loneliness, interpersonal relationship disorders, mental retardation and so on.

Psychologist D. Huizinga described "games" as follows: "Games are more ancient than the generation of culture. Animal play is not learned from humans, and games are not subject to the concept of human civilization. Explanation or restraint, animals and humans also need games. All the characteristics of the game have been fully reflected in the play of animals. For example, when playing between puppies, they bite each other joyfully and bravely, licking each other's ears , Huddled into a ball, rolling on the ground, full of joy, joy and gratitude. The game between puppies is just the simplest type of animal game, as well as more advanced and more developed game content, that is, in countless Circus performances in front of the audience, etc. "

Herzger also pointed out: "Regardless of whether the game is a spontaneous behavior or a prescribed activity, they all have certain time and place restrictions, have self-input and acceptance, and carry certain obligations, follow certain rules, and are full of tension And joy, and it has a different meaning than real life. In addition, Herzger analyzed the meaning of the word game in Greek, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Latin, Germanic, Sanskrit and other languages. "Games" are divided into "competitive games" and "creative games".

The specific method of treatment is: create play conditions for children, they can do whatever they want, no one competes with him for toys, and there is no need to follow the rules to vent children's inner depression and satisfy their various desire. Adults observe the children's behavior and use of toys in another room. Sometimes adults also appear in front of children, guide them to use certain toys, examine the potential experience of children, and explain to them. Through this process, the child's subconscious experience becomes conscious, so that they can control or abandon it for the purpose of treatment. ^[2]