{"id":347,"date":"2007-10-17T10:03:26","date_gmt":"2007-10-17T15:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=347"},"modified":"2014-09-23T09:25:28","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T14:25:28","slug":"educators-use-play-therapy-to-help-children-overcome-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/educators-use-play-therapy-to-help-children-overcome-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Educators Use Play Therapy To Help Children Overcome Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOXFORD, Miss. – Let’s face it: Even adults with extensive
\nverbal skills sometimes face complex emotional issues that
\nare hard to put into words.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nImagine what it’s like for a third-grader who’s still
\nlearning what a noun is.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Children simply don’t have the language to talk about
\ntheir problems,” said Marilyn Snow, associate professor of
\nleadership and counselor education at the University of
\nMississippi. “But if we put them in a room full of toys,
\nthey will play out their experiences, what they’re dealing
\nwith, even if they can’t talk about it.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nIt’s called play therapy, and it has been gaining momentum
\nin schools as a way to treat the mental and emotional
\nissues that some children bring with them to school. Snow
\nteaches two classes on play therapy for students pursuing
\ngraduate and doctoral degrees in counseling education and
\nsupervision. Ole Miss is among only a handful of
\nuniversities in the Southeast with such a program.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOnce referred to play therapy, children attend 30- to
\n45-minute therapy sessions with only a play therapist
\npresent. The toys they choose and how they play with them
\noffer a trained therapist insights into their world.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“In the play room, these children can act out the
\nsituations they’re dealing with and begin to change those
\nsituations in their minds,” said Kenisha Gordon, a doctoral
\nstudent from Amite, La., who coordinates play therapy at
\nLafayette Middle School in Oxford.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Being able to be there, to give them the space they need
\nto heal, it’s huge.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs inspiring as it is, play therapy is often downright
\nintense for both client and therapist. Frequently, the
\nchildren are trying to sort out feelings of anger and
\naggression themes that show up in their play. Snow
\nrecalled what play therapists commonly call “a room wreck,”
\nin which a little boy angrily threw toys on the floor and
\nknocked over shelves during one session.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“When he finished, he let out a big sigh and said,
\nFreedom!’ I could just tell it was very liberating for
\nhim,” Snow said. While a “room wreck” may look and sound
\nlike a plain old tantrum to other adults including parents
\nand teachers Snow said that play therapists create a
\ncomfortable space for children that is essential to helping
\nthem work through their issues.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“If he did that elsewhere, it would be labeled as bad.’ He
\ndoesn’t want to be called bad,’ so he wouldn’t do that in
\npublic anymore,” she said. “But he’d still have that
\naggression inside, bottled up. Here, he can express himself
\nand get it all out.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut it takes patience, said Mary Thompson, a master’s
\nstudent from Oxford. Behavioral changes often take weeks,
\neven months, to manifest.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Teachers, parents and society just want the child to be
\nfixed.’ But it doesn’t work like that,” Thompson said.
\n“This is a child who needs to heal. You have to be patient
\nwith both the child and the process. It takes time.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOne of Snow’s courses, Introduction to Play Therapy, is
\nrequired for master’s students in counseling education, and
\na course in Advanced Play Therapy is offered for master’s
\nand doctoral students. The students also can earn hundreds
\nof hours of actual experience in play therapy. Once they
\ncomplete their course work in the School of Education,
\nthese students are well on their way to meeting the
\nrequirements to become registered play therapists through
\nthe Association for Play Therapy.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nEven with all the training, there are still situations that
\nleave play therapists feeling helpless, such as when a
\nchild must return home to a chaotic household or
\nirresponsible parents. “It’s very hard, being able to see
\nwhere a child seems to be headed and not being able to do
\nmore about it,” Gordon said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBut Snow retains hope that even a relatively short time in
\nplay therapy can help children cope as they grow older.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“It only takes one moment to impact someone’s life,” she
\nsaid. “If we can give a child a moment when she knows she’s
\nbeen heard, that someone cares and thinks she’s worthwhile,
\nthat stays with her for the rest of her life. We do have an
\nimpact.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more information on the UM Department of Leadership and
\nCounselor Education, go to
\nhttp:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/educ?school2\/depts\/leadership.html.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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