What is it?
Play therapy is a therapy that is not only aimed at children. It is about proposing certain games depending on the conflict that we are dealing with.
Around 2010 I had the opportunity to introduce the PlayStation video game online. This person was 24 years old; he did not speak and when I asked him something his answer was always “I do not know”. It was to some extent a problem to give him therapy because the days passed, and I did not see any progress. I knew that play therapy is the best way to communicate what we struggle to talk about. And so, we began to communicate. Without realizing it, without anguish he began through video games to transmit to me what was happening to him and especially what he felt. At the same time, I was also able to make endless comments that I knew could help him and that’s how we started to have more confidence and the therapy began to work.
Play therapy proposes an environment of trust and respect where the person can express their problems while playing. It is a projective technique that manages to be very effective because it can express the situation of the internal world, fears, fantasies, needs, frustrations, hatred, love even heartbreak and maladaptation being full of symbolism.
Since play therapy began, the tools and materials used were dolls, animals, colors, etc.; But now with the advancement of technology we have video games.
Who is it for?
Play therapy is not only aimed at children, but it can also be applied to adolescents, adults and couples.
This therapy is excellent for children and adolescents, especially those who lived through the Pandemic and digital transformation, finding themselves isolated, alone and stressed.
It is very good for people who like video games since they can feel identified with the therapist and thus facilitate the meeting.
Even if they are addicted to gambling with the same games, you can intervene to help them understand the reason for their addiction and thus be able to control it.
What goes into play therapy?
Play is an element of expression and communication. You can develop skills such as cognition, psychomotricity in a fun way. It helps the person to socialize and above all to heal without feeling threatened, judged or invaded.
Through play, bonds are established where we can learn to share and resolve conflicts with others and with ourselves.
Unconscious fantasies intervene in games, which resemble the free association of the adult with speech.
In game therapy intervenes the degrees of tolerance to frustration, following rules, organization as it is important to wait your turn, or not always be the winner.
It does not have a specific language, but the person can use his own language.
How can you help the psychotherapist?
Generally, the role of the psychotherapist in this type of therapy is to provide support and observe.
The therapist does not interfere or suggest how the game should be developed. You can make interventions, ask questions, or invite the person to craft a story or amplify your game.
The game helps the psychotherapist to adopt an attitude of understanding, containment, interest, patience, which helps to better express feelings freely. During the game the psychotherapist can teach the patient guidelines of limits, without judging, criticizing or rejecting what he is doing.
How to choose the most suitable platform for therapy?
They can be role plays, replacing what we used before as dolls, material things, animals, theatrical characterizations or with puppets. A platform that would be very useful in online therapy is Roblox since it has role-playing games where you can represent your family, environment and you can also capture in the game your expectations, ideals, desires, fantasies, frustrations and many more aspects of personality.
Another platform is TOCA WORLD (or any game where you can customize the characters) and so the therapist can realize how his self-esteem is, his ideals and even how he is perceiving his environment as we did with the dolls and relates them to each other.
I like to use this game because it has many real scenarios such as school, parks, shops and homes. You can do and represent whatever you like, no matter how far out of reality it seems. You can observe and understand the current and past problems.
They can freely express their emotions and change in the moment’s characters if they wish to help reflect what happens to them or what they would like to happen to them. It also reflects how she feels treated and by whom at the same time how she would like some things to change. In the same game the person with the help of the therapist can see different alternatives of behavior change that can help him to resolve a certain conflict. Some games are better in face-to-face therapy and others online, since in some you can interact online directly with the patient and others you need to observe their gestures, their behavioral changes and the way they do it.
It is important to consider the frequency of the game because it can lead to another serious problem of addiction to video games. One way to avoid it is to control the use and frequency of these since when they use them excessively it becomes an obsession.
If you want to include in your therapeutic practice, I recommend that you investigate which platform and consoles can help you taking into account the age and specific problems of your patient.
In children under 8 years, it is advisable to use the tablet and cell phones better since the user experience is simpler. If you are going to be guided by consoles, keep in mind that the controls change, and screen movement can be difficult for minors or for people who barely enter this technology.
Do not be afraid to innovate, children and adults’ patients will feel understood and identified; This way you will be able to communicate more easily what concerns them and you will be able to help them better.
