Art Media

• Art Therapy if a form of treatment using simple art materials, including pens, pencils, pencil crayons, markers, crayons, chalk, clay, play-dough, plastercene, paper mache, paper etc. Clients are able to spontaneous express themselves in a non-judgmental atmosphere, allowing them to freely articulate repressed thoughts and feelings without the threat of repercussion.

   

Sand Tray

• Sand tray therapy is a method of psychological or psychoanalytic play therapy which is used to assess the mental health and well-being of children and adults by analyzing how they express themselves through the manipulation of objects in small, tabletop sandboxes (sand-trays). Sand tray participants are asked to create a diorama (a story or miniature world) by arranging toy people, animals, cars, plants, etc. in the sandtray. The therapist evaluates the subject's choice and use of the objects to help the participant to recognize their deeper "symbolic" natures, and to draw various conclusions about their psychological health. Sand Tray is a non-invasive therapeutic method that works especially well with those individuals who are young or have trouble comprehending and talking about difficult issues, such as domestic abuse or child abuse, incest, or the death of a family member.

   

Play Therapy

• Although many childhood upsets are healed without the intervention of therapy, play therapy offers children a natural, safe, and non intrusive method to hasten recovery from common distressing events as well as major traumas. Parents sometimes believe that seeking therapy for their child would indicate parental failure. Although some children have been traumatized by events within the control of parents, many youngsters can benefit from play therapy who experienced situations over which their parents had no control, or were compelled to initiate for the child's benefit, such as medical procedures. Additionally, many children who have experienced no trauma of which their parents are aware can dramatically enhance their self-esteem through play therapy. In any case, obtaining the benefits of play therapy for a child is an indication of deep love and concern rather than failure.

   

Theraplay

• Theraplay is an active, directed form of play therapy, which is based on attachment theory. The attachment that forms between the infant and the primary caregiver is critical for healthy emotional development. The nature of the attachment relationship forms a prototype for all future relationships. Children who have formed a secure attachment have a reduced risk for the development of emotional difficulties later in life. Sometimes because of early hospitalization, numerous foster care placements, adoption, or issues that the primary caregiver is dealing with, the attachment is not as secure as it could be. Theraplay uses a play therapy context to strengthen attachments and bonds between a child and their parents. This is done by imitating early parent infant interactions and having parent and child play this out together in the therapy sessions and then continue these exercises at home.

Theraplay Examples

Parent Activities - To Encourage Attachment And Support Play Therapy

1. Play baby games such as Peek-a-Boo, Hide and Seek, Patty-Cake, and This Little Piggy Went to Market. Include lots of gentle touch, such as a big hug and role on the floor when you find your hiding child. No tickling.
    
2. Get in rhythm with your child by using any song or rhyme paired with rocking, bouncing, clapping. Substitute child's name in songs and rhymes whenever possible.
    
3. Play slippery hand games with lotion and hand massage. Stack hands alternating with your child and pull out the bottom one to put on top.
    
4. Child runs back and forth between two adults with hugs and kisses when arriving each time.
    
5. Snuggle while reading bedtime stories.
    
6. Rock and sing lullabies while cradling child.
    
7. Gentle back, shoulder, and neck rub.
    
8. Foot massage with or without lotion.
    
9. Feed your child or take turns with them feeding you.
    
10. Brush their hair gently (no tangles).
     
11. Snuggle next to them in bed at bedtime and tell each other the best and worst things that happened that day.
     
12. Tell your child the wonderful story of their birth or arrival in your family.
     
13. Cradle your child's face in your hands and tell how much you treasure them.
     
14. Spend extra time and kisses tucking your child in at night, especially on days when there has been conflict.