ANDREA FLOWERS, LPC-MHSP
Counselor/ Play Therapist
PLAY THERAPY
Children feel love, hope, and joy. They also experience sadness, fear, guilt, and anger. Many times, children do not possess the verbal ability to express what they think or feel in words and instead communicate through play. Toys become words, play becomes language. Play allows the child to learn, grow, and adjust to difficulties.
Children’s natural language is behavior: Play, biting, drawing, kicking, yelling, hugging, holding, eye rolling, slamming doors, etc. They communicate via what they do or do not do, more so than what they say. Although children may be very verbal, they do not have the verbal capacity to only rely on words to communicate.
Developmentally, children have not yet acquired the ability to think abstractly. Play allows for symbolic uses of toys—a way for them to bridge the differences from concrete to the abstract.
Children play for mastery, for fun, and/or to work through experiences and adjustment difficulties.
The play room creates a unique atmosphere—matching the world to the child’s view which is a safe way to express difficult things and learn more useful behaviors.
What Children Learn in Play Therapy
Self-Acceptance
To identify their feelings and know that all of their feelings are okay
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Self-Control
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To make choices and be responsible tor their choices
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Self-Respect
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To be creative and resourceful in problem solving
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Self-Direction
Play Therapy Style
1) Andrea is genuinely interested in your child, and believes a warm, caring relationship will develop with your child.
2) Andrea uses, applies and teaches Adlerian theory utilizing Child-Centered play therapy principles. She uses both directive and non-directive techniques whenever therapeutic to do so. She believes that using both techniques allows for the greatest success with most children. Treatment will be tailored to your child’s needs.
3) She will use directed activities (e.g., drawing pictures, using sentence completions, reading therapeutic books, utilizing play-based activities) to assist in behavior change with target goals.
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4) She will use non-directed play as well. During non-directed play, your child leads the session. Your child will choose what to play. Andrea believes that when children lead the session, it creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express the self completely. She trusts the child’s inner direction, allowing the child to lead the play. In this way, Andrea will show your child “I am here,” “I hear you,” “I understand,” “I care.”
5) She will make every attempt to always be sensitive to your child’s feelings and gently reflect those feelings in such a manner that your child develops self-understanding, whether that is during an activity or during play.
6) She will make every attempt to not do anything for children they can do for themselves. She believes children can problem solve and will allow children to do so. In this way, Andrea sends the message that she believes in them.
7) She will establish limits that help your child establish self-control and to know what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable in relationships.
8) Andrea understands the gradual nature of the therapeutic process and will make every attempt to go at a pace that is best suited for lasting change. It takes a long time to perfect behaviors or skills that are not useful, therefore it may take a while to learn new ones.
9) She will make every attempt to be open and honest to both children and their parents. Andrea will make every attempt to be congruent. Children need to know why she does what she does and what she is going to do when certain behaviors occur so they know what to expect of her. Children need to know what she going to teach their parents to apply at home.
10) Andrea believes that the most important persons in a child’s life are his/her parents. She believes that if she is the only one that helps a child through a difficulty, it sends the message that she is the most important person in the child’s life. Andrea will make every attempt to help the family system because she will likely only be there to help a child for a brief time, but the child’s parents will be there for that child forever. She believes that if parents are not incorporated into treatment it sends the message that the child is the only problem. She believes when children have problems, it often relates to belonging and relationships. Andrea wants to help the family to create lasting change, not just help with a presenting issue. She wants to help parents understand their children, and she wants to help children understand their parents. Andrea believes that once patterns of relating are understood, change can occur.
Axline, V. (1947). Play therapy: The inner dynamics of childhood. Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Landreth, G. (2002) Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). New: York: Brunner Routledge.
Kottman, T. (2003). Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
The Playroom at Clarksville Counseling
