PLAY THERAPY TRAINING IN MFT PROGRAMS

Running head: PLAY THERAPY TRAINING IN MFT PROGRAMS

Marriage and Family Therapy Programs:

Acknowledging the Voices of Child Clients

The purpose of the professional issue position paper was to investigate the provision of play therapy courses in marriage and family therapy (MFT) programs. Although marriage and family therapists encounter child clients, they are in many instances inadequately trained to interact effectively with children or deliberately exclude them from family therapy (Johnson & Thomas, 1999; Cederborg, 1997; Cox, 1997; Raimondi & Walters, 2004; Lund, Zimmerman, & Haddock, 2002). Play therapy was proposed as a means of enabling therapists to better assist young children in the therapeutic process. Through a qualitative review of literature, the following areas were explored: (a) the historical development of play therapy; (b) the applicability of play therapy that meets the developmental needs and abilities of children; and (c) the use of play therapy strategies. This exploration also showed that professionals working with children often rely on play therapy. However, without appropriate training, their application of play therapy may not achieve the intended results.

Play Therapy Training in Marriage and

Family Therapy Programs: Acknowledging the Voices of Child Clients

Although children are often direct o

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r language development, play enables them to display their thought processes and perceptions. For example, for fearful children who enter the therapeutic situation without understanding or preparation, the use of play can be the therapist's most effective tool for gaining the trust of the children and establising a natural, pleasurable relationship (Bow, 1993). A trusting therapist-child client relationship can promote the attachment process necessary for restoring the child's faith in human relationships (Jernberg, 1979). Role of Play in Child Development As an activity that fosters pleasure for children, play enables them to release feelings of tension, fear, and anxiety with the concomitant increase in their feelings of well-being (Landreth, 1993). Their positive affect will thus also increase their cognitive capacity to deal with stressors (Aborn, 1993). Certainly, this state of well-being also enables children to reenact their stressful events and to unleash their feelings without being overwhelmed (Gil, 1991). As Oremland (1993) explained, the repeated rendering of these activities through play helps them to cope with the traumas of their experience in a passive fashion. The role of play also serves a vital develop

Category: Psychology - P