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Play therapy: the children's views
Author(s) -
Carroll Jo
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2206.2002.00234.x
Subject(s) - feeling , meaning (existential) , psychology , context (archaeology) , value (mathematics) , psychotherapist , play therapy , therapeutic relationship , developmental psychology , social psychology , history , computer science , archaeology , machine learning
This paper describes my efforts, as a practising play therapist, to listen to children’s opinions about the play therapy experience. There has been ongoing interaction between this project and my clinical work. Previous research has attended to adult agendas, and I have tried to give children a voice. There have been methodological challenges. However, data from the children confirm the overriding importance of the relationship, providing the context for the therapeutic experience. Within the playroom, children distinguish between talking and playing, and both have a role. However, while therapists ascribe meaning to play, most children see it as ‘just fun’. For some children having fun, in the context of a thoughtful and sustaining relationship, was the most significant aspect of the therapeutic process. Others were able to reflect more deeply and recognize the value of having difficult feelings thought about and understood.