Play therapy is an effective and powerful modality in the early intervention for trauma in children. It is a psychological program dealing with developmental issues formed in childhood.
What is Trauma
Trauma is an emotional response to unsettling events. These events may come as a shock to the person experiencing them. If left untreated, it can often affect them for a lifetime, as it comes in bouts when any triggers occur. The triggers may be experiencing a similar event or hearing about such events, or even triggered by smells, sounds or the sighting of relatable cues.
Trauma has a distinct impact on fragile young brains. It affects a child’s cognitive development and cripples an individual’s life in childhood and adulthood when left unresolved.
Childhood trauma is often suppressed when children don’t receive the right support and help to deal with negative experiences and emotions. Any untreated childhood trauma causes difficulties in navigating personal relationships as one grows older. Trauma also derails a child’s sense of safety and ability to regulate emotion. Early intervention helps children to deal with trauma.
Causes of Trauma
Children can experience trauma from many events, which affects a child’s mental stability in the long term. To begin with, poor relationship with parents and caretakers affects the way they view the outside world, resulting in trauma. Experiencing painful events like loss, violence, bullying, physical and sexual abuse, accidents, chronic illness, war, or natural disasters also cause trauma.
Symptoms of Trauma
Trauma symptoms are often visible among children. They cause changes to the physical and emotional responses of the traumatised child. Some of the signs of trauma among children include the following:
- Social isolation or separation from family
- Aggressive, impulsive behaviour or rapid mood swings
- Recurring memories that they exhibit during play at times
- Hyper irritability
- Depressed or anxious
- New fears, general fearfulness, and nightmares
- Eating or sleeping disturbances
- Talking about the traumatic event and emotional reaction to triggers
What is Play Therapy
Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy or counselling for children to help them deal with their complex emotions. It allows children to express their feelings with a trusted therapist. Play therapy can be held among individuals or groups.
Benefits of Play Therapy for Trauma
Play is integral to human development to develop cognitive, physical, and social skills. When therapy uses play, traumatised children deal with trauma in an engaging and safe manner. It teaches them how to build relationships and connect with others.
Play therapy facilitates a unique way of healing in children. It gives them space and time to heal from trauma at their own pace by providing them with a safe and non-judgmental environment to explore their vulnerabilities and express them.
It facilitates natural responses, ensuring that play is healing and safe. This approach provides traumatised children with the flexibility to play. It helps them deal with traumatic events in an indirect manner and improves their emotional and cognitive skills.
How is Play Therapy Conducted
Therapists conduct play therapy within a safe and therapeutic environment that makes children feel safe and valued. Play therapists use age-appropriate toys, games, arts and crafts, and storytelling to heal their trauma.
To begin with, therapists start by working on building a trusting relationship with children. Once they establish a trusting bond with children, they initiate play and encourage children to take the lead. This makes children feel safe and valued. Once children feel comfortable with the therapist, they start expressing themselves, their deeper emotions, and negative feelings. By encouraging the child through emphatic responses, the therapist will intervene to resolve the child’s concerns.
Play therapy is highly effective as it helps to overcome complex communication barriers with children. CoRe Kids Therapy specialises in providing a safe play therapy environment. Contact us to learn more about play therapy and children’s counselling in South East Bayside Melbourne.