Play Therapy

Play is the most important thing a child can do. When children play they are functioning at their optimum level of development. Increasing the complexity of their play skills facilitates all areas of their development. Play is not only the essence of a happy childhood, it is the way children learn - about themselves, their bodies, their environment, and the people and objects around them.

For a child, play is serious business; through play a child develops self-confidence, a positive self image and learns to express feelings, solve problems, make decisions and cope with real life situations.

All play has educational, developmental and therapeutic potential. The emphasis placed on each aspect varies according to the context and the goals of the professional involved as well as the particular needs of the child. What they have in common is the fundamental belief in the natural power of play.

Play therapy uses the therapeutic powers of play to help children achieve optimal growth and development and to prevent or resolve a range of development and/or emotional difficulties. It promotes resilience and assists children to develop holistically and increase emotional intelligence.

There is a fundamental difference between the child’s play in other situations and their play in play therapy. The structure and quality of the relationship between the play therapist and the child provides opportunities for therapeutic healing and repair. This transforms the play to play therapy. The play therapist is an informed container of the child's therapeutic work providing a unique understanding of the child’s inner world. 

Pia is trained in animal assisted therapy and has a young dog called Libi working alongside with her in the playroom.

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Theraplay

The re-creation of a healthy parent-child relationship is a central goal of Theraplay (Jernberg, 1979; 1987). Theraplay activities are designed to enhance the child-parent relationship by focussing on the four essential qualities found in child-parent relationships: nurture, challenge, structure and engagement.

Parents/carers participate in activities that include movement games, singing, feeding the child, racing, bubble blowing, catching balloons or feathers, and patty-cake clapping, amongst others. Nurturing activities, such as feeding, rocking, cuddling and holding, have a soothing capacity and help the child to become better regulated.  They help the child to relax, feel safe and taken care of (Bundy-Myrow and Booth 2009, p.317). Theraplay activities are designed to communicate to your child that it can get what it needs without having to work for it or being rejected for expressing the need.

Sessions are directive, the therapist prepares sessions carefully to meet the child and parents/carers needs. The sessions are videotaped, videos are then used to see areas of strengths, and in which areas more  support is needed. After about 5 sessions, a review is held, were the videos are used for feedback.

Prior to developing a treatment plan the therapist will undertake a H-MIM assessment, to assess the overall quality and nature of relationships between caregivers and child.

To find out more see https://theraplay.org/theraplay

H-MIM Assessment

The H-MIM (Heidelberg Marschak Intervention Method) is an adapted version of the MIM- assessment (Marschak Intervention Method).

The H-MIM is a valuable tool in planning treatment and in supporting caregivers to strengthen their relationship with their child. It is a structured techniques for observing and assessing the overall quality and nature of relationships between caregivers and child. The H-MIM consists of a series of chosen tasks in three primary dimensions in order to evaluate the caregivers’ capacity to:

• guide the child

• connect to the child emotionally

• cope with stress

The H-MIM takes from 30 to 60 minutes and is usually videotaped. The videos are then viewed and provide an opportunity to have a close look at strengths of both adult and child and their relationship, as well as problem areas in their relationship.

If you would like to make an appointment for play therapy, please contact Pia Lück.