Play Therapy Skill
A 6-year-old child, feeling peaceful, gently sways a toy figure back and forth.
Reflection of Feeling: "You look calm/relaxed."
A 9-year-old child, looks angry, paints on the easel with sharp, jagged red lines.
Reflection of Feeling: "You look angry as you're painting that."
An 8-year-old child uses puppets to act out a scene where one is shouting at another.
Reflection of Feeling: "That one is mad at that one."
The 5-year old child holds up a T-rex and asks: "Is this a T-rex?"
Returning Responsibility: "Must look like a T-rex to you."
9-year-old child scoops up a handful of sand and puts it into the bucket.
Tracking: "Another scoop in there"
An 8-year-old child stacks blocks in a chaotic pile and then scatters them across the floor.
Tracking: "You built that up and then spread it out."
An 8-year-old child builds a small structure and hides a figure inside it and says: "He doesn't want the monster to find him" and makes noises like he is crying.
Reflection of Feeling: "He sounds scared of the monster."
An 8-year-old child uses puppets to act out a scene where one is shouting at another--the puppet that is yelling says: "I'm not mad at you. I know you can't hear me so put in your machines."
Reflection of Content: "It understands that one can't hear and is trying to help."
Child (8-year-old) said to the therapist: "I just don't know what to do. What do you want me to play with?"
Returning responsibility: "Sometimes it's hard to decide. What you play with first is your decision."
The first part is technically a reflection of content that can help the child feel heard but the critical skill here is returning responsibility to the child.
Child (3-year-old) took the baby in the dollhouse and put her in "time-pit" saying, "You've been bad don't come out ever again!"
Reflection of Content: "That baby sounds like it is in big trouble for something!"
A 5-year-old child, feeling frustrated, repeatedly tries to fit a puzzle piece in the wrong spot.
Reflection of Feeling: "Feeling frustrated that you’re working hard on that and it won't fit."
A 7-year-old child draws a person with a big frown and asks, “Do you think they’re sad?”
Returning Responsibility: "I see a big frown on their face--in here, you get to decide."
An 8-year-old child, feeling nervous, fidgets with a toy, twisting it repeatedly.
Reflection of Feeling: "You look nervous about something."
7-year-old child asks the therapist: "What pictures do other kids draw?"
Returning responsibility: "In here, the important thing is the kind of of pictures you like to draw."
The 4-year-old child grabs the car off of the shelf and runs it across the floor.
Tracking: "Your making that go right across there"
A 7-year-old child lines up toy figures in two groups facing each other.
Tracking: "You lined those up across from each other; they’re ready for something.
An 8-year-old child creates a scene where a little person sandtray figure is working hard to climb a block tower, and asks, “Can they make it to the top?”
Tracking: "Hum... (act quizzical) Looks like it's trying so hard to climb up there." If the child persists to ask--you could then return the responsibility: "You get to decide what happens."
5-year-old child picks up the sheep and puts it in the bed in the dollhouse and covers it up, saying: "It is cold."
Reflection of Content: "It's trying to warm under there."
Child (5-years-old) says: "Okay, now it's time to play school. You be the student, and I'll be the teacher". What is 2+2?
Returning Responsibility: "In here, that's something you can try."
A 6-year-old child curls up in a corner with a blanket and asks, “Is it okay to stay here?”
Returning Responsibility: "In here, that's something you can choose."
A 5-year-old child, feeling upset, tears a piece of paper into small pieces
Reflection of Feeling: "Feeling sad--tearing that to pieces."
A 3-year old child asks: "Can I go to the potty?" (there are 18 minutes left in the session).
(even though the first part is a reflection of content--the structuring response is the most critical here given the context)...
6-year-old child enthusiastically asks the play therapist: "Do you have a dog at home?"
Returning the Responsibility: "I do have a dog at home. Looks like you were wondering about me."
This is considered a "returning of the responsibility" as the child shifted over to the therapist with the question. The therapist answers and reflects back to the child; hence, returning responsibility.
Child (6-year-old) tells play therapist to be the mom and take the baby doll and feed, change, and rock her to sleep.
Therapeutic Role-Play: "I'm the babies mom and know how to take care of baby (while beginning to feed the baby)."
The goal here is to keep the child in the lead as much as possible while engaging in the role in which they've place you.