Incorporating ‘play’ therapy to mental health treatment

‘Play’ therapy has been around for a number of years, but is a technique for treating mental health disorders that is somewhat less-understood than more common therapeutic means.

Fort Wayne, Indiana mental health counselor Gayle Bevill-Dada recently added play therapy services to the wide array of mental health services she provides for children and adults.

She said play therapy “is used as a primary intervention or an adjunct therapy for a multiple of mental disorders. People have a misconception about play therapy, but it’s a theoretically based, structured treatment for emotional resolution, cognitive and motor development, and it can be directive or non-directive.”

For example, the technique may be used to effectively treat conduct disorder or aid in academic and physical development. As well, it can be employed as a behavior modification therapy, she said.

“Play therapy is geared toward kids ages three to 12, but it also can be used to treat teens and adults,” Bevill-Dada said. “For instance, a child with anxiety could play with bubbles as their play therapy treatment.”

She explained that individuals with anxiety or panic attacks normally breathe rapidly and shallowly as a physiological reaction to their stress. Children can learn to control and slow their breathing through play therapy by blowing bubbles, especially if Bevill-Dada is able to coax them to blow the biggest bubble they can, which requires the child to exhale slowly and gently.

Bevill-Dada said, “The child can use that technique during an attack, but my favorite is when kids ‘have volcanoes in their tummies.’ Kids say they feel that way when they’re angry, so when they get mad, I have them jump up and down on one foot. It makes them laugh, but they can’t be mad and laughing at the same time.”

Bevill-Dada said there are numerous types of play therapy with teachings based on different schools of psychology. Each treatment is specifically designed to meet an individual’s needs, and may include teaching parents how to be play therapists at home, she said.

She called play therapy “the most wonderful approach for disruptive behavior and attachment disorder,” and went on to say, “Therapists use play therapy to help kids express themselves when they don’t have the verbal language to express themselves. You can’t do insight talk therapy with kids because they don’t understand their feelings and can’t talk about them like adults do. Play is a child’s natural means of mastering their environment. It’s also good for couples and adults, especially those who’ve experienced trauma and are dealing with it for the first time. Current research supports the use and effectiveness of play therapy.”

Bevill-Dada is currently the only Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S) in Fort Wayne and Allen County, and one of about 10 in Indiana.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

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