Considering my excitement about learning more about the techniques of play therapy, I was really pleased with reading the article Preparing to Play: A Qualitative Study of Graduate Students’ Reflections on Learning Play Therapy in n Elementary School. It is always nice to hear input and experiences from students on the same journey that I am on currently. Prior to reading this article, I remember times in my undergraduate career where we would go and volunteer at places like local schools, and lend a helping hand for programs like Habitat for Humanity. I have always wondered if graduate programs offered opportunities like the ones, I have experienced in my undergrad. I was intrigued when I read the abstract about graduate students in a course
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After reading this article many things struck me and resonated with my beliefs. To begin with I have heard of the benefits of play therapy, however, I didn’t know how many factors it can affect in a child’s development. According to Smith-Adock et al (2012), play therapy has been considered an important factor in a child’s social, cognitive, and development. I never factored in the social aspect of a child’s development in play therapy. I assumed that play would help a child resolve their problems within their lives; however, I never factored in how it may improve a child’s social development as well. This factor alone increased my interest in play therapy. Another concept I enjoy is the environment that play therapy provides to the child, instead of a cold and boring office space. The article stated that at the end of the study the children would drag their play buddies into the playroom to play (Smith-Adock et al, 2012). This shows that the play environment is really important in breakthroughs in therapy. More importantly, within the environment of play therapy, a therapist is able to build rapport with the child and allow them to examine and understand their own experiences with the use of play techniques. I think this therapy is a great way to provide solutions to problems that children face in their own way, in comparison to …show more content…
During this program have been taught many theories, methods, and models. The article talks about a constructivist approach to play therapy. According to Smith-Adock et al (2012), “Knowledge is constructed within the individual, rather than existing as a truth in the external world to be discovered”. In other words, to me this means a person creates his or her own understanding, instead of solely relying on what others or society describes as the correct understanding. I completely agree, I think that a person’s knowledge is acquired through personal experience, which can be contributed to by a variety of factors. Within a constructivist view of play therapy, a therapist and client can participate in activities designed to promote deep learning, and integrate concepts centered around personal experience, situations, and knowledge from others in order to create personal growth in play therapy (Smith-Adock et al, 2012). I think this can be a great step towards having clients create their own
After reading this article many things struck me and resonated with my beliefs. To begin with I have heard of the benefits of play therapy, however, I didn’t know how many factors it can affect in a child’s development. According to Smith-Adock et al (2012), play therapy has been considered an important factor in a child’s social, cognitive, and development. I never factored in the social aspect of a child’s development in play therapy. I assumed that play would help a child resolve their problems within their lives; however, I never factored in how it may improve a child’s social development as well. This factor alone increased my interest in play therapy. Another concept I enjoy is the environment that play therapy provides to the child, instead of a cold and boring office space. The article stated that at the end of the study the children would drag their play buddies into the playroom to play (Smith-Adock et al, 2012). This shows that the play environment is really important in breakthroughs in therapy. More importantly, within the environment of play therapy, a therapist is able to build rapport with the child and allow them to examine and understand their own experiences with the use of play techniques. I think this therapy is a great way to provide solutions to problems that children face in their own way, in comparison to …show more content…
During this program have been taught many theories, methods, and models. The article talks about a constructivist approach to play therapy. According to Smith-Adock et al (2012), “Knowledge is constructed within the individual, rather than existing as a truth in the external world to be discovered”. In other words, to me this means a person creates his or her own understanding, instead of solely relying on what others or society describes as the correct understanding. I completely agree, I think that a person’s knowledge is acquired through personal experience, which can be contributed to by a variety of factors. Within a constructivist view of play therapy, a therapist and client can participate in activities designed to promote deep learning, and integrate concepts centered around personal experience, situations, and knowledge from others in order to create personal growth in play therapy (Smith-Adock et al, 2012). I think this can be a great step towards having clients create their own