Play Therapy
Play Therapy
When To Come In For Play Therapy?
Children can have problems with bullying, learning issues, anxieties, phobias, trauma, anger, ADD, nightmares, behavior problems, and depression. They may not be able to express these issues verbally and may do that by either acting in or acting out.
What is Play Therapy?
Play therapy is the treatment of choice when it comes to working with young children. Play is considered symbolic in the sense that children will act and reenact the perception of their environment, issues they struggle with, their thoughts and feelings. Jean Piaget, the noted Swiss psychologist, believed that play could heal through its compensating and cathartic characteristics. For example, if a child has lost a pet, the child can play out a sick pet that is cured by the child in therapy. The child plays this game many times and in the process tries to understand death. Every time, he/she re-enacts this play, his anxiety decreases and he feels more in control.
When a child is angry, he/she may spank his doll and send her to bed without dinner. This way he is expressing the anger that he has at his parents or siblings. Piaget believed that when children use symbols, they re-live a painful situation and thereby liquidate it. Thus they may enact forbidden actions and neutralize their fears by doing in play what they would not dare do in reality.
How can it help?
The key technique in play therapy is the therapist’s interpretation of symbolic play in words that the child is ready to accept and understand, and offering new ways in the context of play to control and manage fears, anxieties, and negative emotions. Play therapy builds on the natural way that children learn about themselves and their relationships in the world around them (Axline, 1947; Carmichael, 2006; Landreth, 2002).
Our Therapy Process
Your first step is to call us to schedule your initial appointment. We will link you up with the therapist that we believe will be the best fit for you.
Your initial evaluation session provides an opportunity to establish rapport with the therapist and provide them with some background about yourselves and the reasons you are seeking therapy. In addition, they will be able to answer your questions regarding services, confidentiality, and what to expect in therapy.
At the end of your first session, if you decide to move forward with treatment, we will schedule further appointments. At your second appointment, we will create a treatment plan together that is compatible with your personality, needs, resources and your unique cultural background.
Call +1 630 774 8316 Dr. Asif or +1 630 674 1138 Dr. Yasmeen and speak to us to learn more or schedule an appointment.
Benefits
- Play allows children a safe psychological distance from their problems and allows them to express their true thoughts and feelings in ways best suited to their developmental level.
- Children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and learn a variety of ways of relating to others.
Are parents involved?
It is important for the child to feel safe in play therapy. Sometimes parents are part of the play therapy session and sometimes the therapist conducts the session with the child. It depends on the therapists’ style, and the nature of the problem. The play therapist will involve the parent by sharing general themes, helpful responses, and progress in therapy with the parent as well as meet with the parent on a regular basis. Confidentiality allows children to feel that they can fully express themselves without being inhibited by the concern over their parents’ reactions or feelings. Play therapists may also facilitate family therapy on a regular basis in which all or some family members may participate to work toward therapeutic success for the child.
If you are experiencing this,
please call us
Dr. Asif Khan
(630) 774 8316
Dr. Yasmeen Khan
(630) 674 1138