Games- the laughter of the heart

Ring-a-ring o' roses A pocket full of posies A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down

Does this ring a bell somewhere? As kids of any age group, we must’ve at least once sung the above rhyme to use it as a singing game. The group sings the song, forming a circle holding each other’s hand, going round and round, and then falling to the ground. The joy of falling down and then standing up again with roars of laughter. Ask any adult if they ever played it. I’m sure we all did and we still love to do so.

What about ‘play’ that brings the buried laughter and child-like excitement in us? It tends to make one feel lighter and mentally fit. In this day where mental health is the need of the hour with our stressful and demanding lifestyle how do we achieve?

Mental health and play

Play is often recognized for its contribution to physical health and emotional well-being. Conventionally, the health benefits of play are recognized as well as the physical activity involved in playing actively and while play enhances the mental health of children, it does the same for adults and even for older people. The mental health role supported by playing can be distinguished not only from the angle that play therapy control – which is used for treating behavioral and disturbing obscurity – but helping adults to deal with experiences also during unstructured freely-chosen play it contributes to emotional health and well-being of adults.

Just like every other health benefit, playing and laughing more for adults triggers release of the feel-good hormones endorphins, which is particularly associated with stress. Also, it facilitates happiness, wards off depression, improve cognitive health, and lowers the risk of developing age-related diseases as when done regularly; it boosts lung functions, toughens your heart, and lowers your risk of developing coronary heart disease.

 What is play therapy?

Play therapy is a treatment approach that helps children process their emotions and experiences by utilizing the child’s native language: play. Play therapists specialize in understanding and interpreting the child’s expression of their inner world by observing patterns and themes in the child’s play.

Play therapy is a form of counseling or psychotherapy that uses play to assess, prevent, or treat psychosocial challenges. Although play therapy can be used with adults, it’s most commonly used with children.

Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology at Boston College, said during one of his TED talks that, play from a biological evolutionary standpoint, is nature’s means of ensuring that young mammals, including young human beings, acquire the skills that they need to attain development successfully into adults.

Renowned play therapist Dr. Gary Landreth wrote, “In the playroom, toys are used like words and play is the child’s language.” Long before children can express themselves with words, they express their inner world through play. Play is how children communicate, learn, process, and problem-solve.

Play therapy spaces generally have a wide array of toys, games, and figurines available to the child to play with and manipulate. Because children often don’t have the verbal or cognitive skills to talk about their feelings or experiences, the objects they play with serve as symbols—for people or places in their lives, thoughts and feelings, desires, and conflicts.

When is play therapy used?

Play therapy is helpful for children who are in distress for some reason, who display overt behavioral problems, or who have experienced a dramatic upset in their life, such as the death of a parent or parental divorce. It’s often used when children are facing serious medical procedures or struggling with chronic illness, and many children’s hospitals offer play therapy.

Play therapy is considered helpful for children who have experienced physical or emotional abuse or for those who have been bullied. It has been shown to be of help to children who have experienced war and other atrocities. Children who are persistently sad or anxious can find play therapy a safe and confidential way to work out their problems, as can those who are angry or have trouble adjusting to change.

Play therapy is also sometimes used with adults. Role-playing, for example, is a technique widely used in play therapy that is also incorporated into such standard adult therapies as cognitive behavioral therapy. Creative writing, music, and art may all be adapted for therapeutic purposes.

Types of Play therapy

Directive play therapy: In directive play therapy, the play therapist guides the session. For example, the play therapist may introduce a specific activity or new toys for the child to play with. With directive play therapy, the therapist has certain goals and outcomes in mind and uses play to help the child learn new skills and make new connections.

Nondirective play therapy: This type of play therapy is largely guided by the child. The play therapist may place specific toys in the playroom, but it is up to the child to decide what to do and how to play. There are certain outcomes still in mind for the child, but the therapist adapts their approach to achieve those results through the child’s preferred play activities.

Individual play therapy: A play therapist works with one child at a time.

Group play therapy: One or more play therapists work with multiple children at once.

Family play therapy: A play therapist works with one or more children from the same family and involves others in the family, such as parents, adolescent or adult siblings, or grandparents, in working toward specific outcomes.

Techniques used in Play therapy

• Sandtray

• Telling stories

• Making art

• Imaginative play

• Dancing

• Making music

• Using toys (kitchen set, games, cars, figurines, blocks)

What Can Play Therapy Help Treat?

ADHD

Anger management

Anxiety

Autism

Conduct disorder

Conflict resolution

Dementia (for adults)

Depression

Grief

Intellectual disabilities

Low self-esteem

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

Social skills deficits

Play therapy is often used in concert with other forms of therapy, including:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps people identify unhelpful or negative thought patterns that affect their emotions and behaviors.
• Gestalt therapy: Gestalt therapy focuses on the present moment and takes a holistic approach to healing.
• Trauma-informed therapy: Certain therapies, such as prolonged exposure therapy, EMDR, or somatic therapy, have proven effective for people who have survived traumatic experiences.

Play therapy is a method of therapy that uses play to uncover and deal with psychological issues. It can be used on its own, particularly with children, or along with other therapies and medications.  Play therapy  need not only be looked at in times of dealing with a disorder. Play can be used in our day to day life, at least when ever we do get the occasion to practice play. Play produces happiness hormones which makes us feel great. So let’s all transform happily!