Joyce E Smith, MA, LMFT * 323 333-4462 * PTSD & Trauma Specialist
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Child
Centered
Play
Therapy
It's not uncommon for parents to be concerned when their children "act out" with behavior such as yelling, breaking things, tantrums, hitting, etc. Children haven’t developed the language to express what they are feeling, consequently emotions are expressed through their actions. A contributing factor is the undeveloped executive function part of the brain which makes decisions and exercises control over their actions. Often this isn’t fully developed until their early 20’s. Consequently children have a limited operating system to stop their impulses. When these impulses are required to be suppressed for a multitude of reasons, children often end up expressing these emotions through “acting out.”
Even though children tend to be very ego-centric, when dealing with something that is upsetting, it often is much easier to express themselves through the use of something external. They are also very good at playing in the world of pretend. Some possible ways of combining these two is using objects outside themselves such as puppets, sand play therapy, drawings, etc. to act out what is emotionally occurring inside. For example, if they have broken something, during a therapy session it will now be the dragon puppet that broke it. Another common theme is separation from their parents. This anxiety may play itself out by a young colt getting buried in the sand, followed by the momma horse searching for "her baby" and digging it out. Anger towards someone might be expressed by drawing a picture of who they are mad at and then tearing it up - a form of gaining power over whomever they are mad at.
Children are very organic in the way they function in the world. Due to limited emotional language, issues that surface during play may never emerge in response to direct questions. By encouraging full expression, without being constrained by what’s considered “acceptable” behavior, it is much easier to get to the root of the problem. As a trained play therapist, I follow their lead, gently interjecting bits of conversation to help the child come to a more adaptive resolution.
Call 323 333-4462
Complimentary initial 20 minute phone consultation
JoyceESmithMFT@gmail.com