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PLAY IS THE THING -- Play Therapy is spontaneous play that may or may not have a clear-cut goal or conform to a stereotypical pattern. The child or adult works out concerns in the safe relationship with the therapist and gets a better sense of how he or she wants to feel. In a study of 26 convicted murderers, researcher Stuart Brown discovered that as children, most of them had suffered either "from the absence of play or abnormal play like bullying, sadism, extreme teasing, or cruelty to animals." Brown's work led him to explore the biological roots of play. "New and exciting studies of the brain, evolution, and animal behavior," he wrote, "suggest that play may be as important to life — for us and other animals — as sleeping and dreaming." — Stuart L. Brown, "Animals at Play," National Geographic. December1994. Brown's website is http://www.instituteforplay.com.

Play therapy figurines help express what you are really thinking and feeling. This archetypal symbolism mirrors emotions and helps reflect back to you what you need to know about yourself and your situation. What got you here and how would you like to go forward? It is always helpful to make friends with the resourceful observer self.

Here is the Family Tree made by a young woman that shows us how she views the people in her life. The cheerleader and the graduate clearly express the positive roles some people play. She gives the graduate a lot of power by placing it at the top. She can easily tell me about the other people in her world through the symbols she has chosen. Next I will ask her to show me objects that represent her strengths and weaknesses. Inevitably, this is a representation of her current problem, whether she is aware of this or not.

Looking at the past through metaphors helps resolve current issues. One can easily see how old patterns and viewpoints have a clear influence on today's problems. The possibility of changing the future seems remarkably easy when you are awake to the patterns that are there. The images you create have an immediacy that is better than a lot of stories you tell to justify your actions. Because you are the creator of your own experience, the work you do needs to be less mechanical. It should involve a shock or two.

This scene shows helping figures and the purifying element of fire. The theme of longing for transformation seems obvious. A lot of grieving of losses seems in order.

     Sand tray therapy helps you observe how you operate in the world. The effect is at once revealing and inescapable. Inner resources you didn't know you had become obvious. Conflict diminishes when you start noticing your part in it.

     My primary goal for clients is positive change. Getting into action comes when you make new choices. When a new perspective is born, you will find relief from the repetative nature of old behaviors. Play therapy heals by shining a light on and revisiting past injuries. It helps meet the needs for comfort, closeness, and security. Well-balanced people need the ability to develop and maintain intimacy with others. They learn that they are worthy of love and support. They are compassionate and responsive to others. They are flexible thinkers — able to contact resources within themselves for spiritual growth. Clearly, self regulation is a higher state of being than blame and control.

     My goal for clients is that they don't miss their own life. I want them to have zero regrets at age 80. A more mindful individual can emerge through playful experiences that go deeper than words.

Children in Therapy

     A solid grasp of relationships is crucial for dealing with challenging children. They, too, can learn to be more securely attached through play. Mirroring their actions can help them learn a new emotional language they didn't have before.

     Parents find that learning playroom skills not only promotes independence in their children, but also helps other relationships at work and socially.

child's tray

This picture done by an adolescent shows what it's like to be a young person in today's world.

We can access and observe internal currents of consciousness more readily to accept and digest that information. What we would normally express in words is formed here with symbols. It is a meditative and dreamlike experience, an unforgettable landscape that wakes us up to what's really going on. Being awake brings the restorative powers of truth plus an inner quiet.