Learn To Play
The Learn to Play Program is a therapeutic play program based on the Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist (Stagnitti, 2011). The program is designed to assess a child’s play skills and pretend play ability as well as enjoyment in play, as they move their way through the assessment (Stagnitti, 2011). Learn to Play then aims to strengthen the child’s play skills by working out what skills are needing development and building on them by scaffolding the child’s play skills with the support of well-crafted sessions with the therapist (Stagnitti, 2011).
Once the assessment is completed after the first session, together, we will establish some pretend play goals that will work on developing play scripts, sequences of play actions, object substitution (pretending to use an object as something else), doll/teddy play, role play and social interaction (Stagnitti, 2017). The Learn to Play program will occur over approximately 8 sessions.
Sessions can occur in our rooms, in a learning center such as school or kindergarten, or in your home.
Humanistic Play Therapy
Humanistic Play Therapy is a type of therapy that involves the child leading the way to openly and freely express their inner world. Humanistic play therapy is based on Landreth’s (2012) notion that children do not necessarily have the developmental ability to verbalise how they are feeling, therefore this intervention allows children to communicate through the use of toys and play. Humanistic play therapy is characterised by the relationship between the therapist and child, offering unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy, the therapist attunes to the child’s play, tracking their play and reflecting back their emotions (Cochran, Nordling & Cochran, 2010). This mode of therapy allows the child to be the leader of play, and allows them to hold the power to share their story with the adult, without feeling shame, judgement or allowing the adult to interpretation the child’s meaning behind the play (Cochran, Nordling & Cochran, 2010).
Filial Play Therapy
Filial Play Therapy is a family focussed intervention, intended to train parents in the key skills Play Therapists are trained in, to become the lead therapists and change agents in their children’s lives (VanFleet, 2014). Filial Therapy occurs over a sequence of 8 – 12 sessions whereby the parents are shown how to do the therapeutic work and are then coached by the therapist on how to strengthen their attunement to their child, track the child’s play and reflect back to the child what they can see in the play (VanFleet, 2014).
Research supports that Filial Therapy is the most effective form of therapy as it builds on and strengthens attachment, encourages parent’s attunement to their children and strengthens their overall relationship.
Filial Therapy can really support parents to connect, play and attune to their children in a fun and non-confrontational way!