A common concern among parents and care takers of young children is that their child may need help in some way. Maybe it is due to a significant trauma experienced by the child, looming family crisis, or other stressors that have overwhelmed the child. Considering counselling and therapy for the child is always a big consideration; one that is often fraught with fear, and possibly even shame.
Play therapy is appropriate for young children and older, who are experiencing emotional or behavioural issues. It allows them to open up their emotions in the safe space of the ‘playroom’, where they are allowed to face their thoughts and emotions nonverbally.
Play allows children to learn how to develop a better sense of their abilities and gives them more confidence.
Play allows children to develop creative problem-solving abilities.
Play allows children to learn about empathy and respect for feelings of others by giving them space to get in touch with their own thoughts and feelings.
Play Therapy taps into the unique needs of children, who naturally express themselves through play. Directed and non-directed play is used to communicate with the child at their pace and in an unassuming, and non-threatening way. Children as young as 3 years old can benefit greatly from Play Therapy.
College of Allied Educators offers the Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills. Awarded by the Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy, UK, (APAC), these programmes will allow students to further explore ways of integrating the child as the centre of a social system, which includes schools, families and a team of support. They will also introduce you to developmental practices, types of play therapy, legal frameworks, assessment, protection procedures and therapeutic interventions.
