POINT
Play Therapy Needs the Baby and the Bath Water JESSICA STONE, PHD, RPT-S
Generations born before the year 2000 may be struggling a bit with the changes in communication and entertainment modes, preferences, tools, and styles popularized in the current era. Play therapists are no exception. There are numerous articles, blogs, and books being written that state the concerns people have regarding the way society is integrating digital tools into daily life. Concerns range from the effects on the brain to social isolation (Domoff et al., 2017). Support ranges from accommodations allowed for those who are differently abled (Wheeler, 2016) to improved eye-hand coordination (Chen, & Tsai, 2015) to connecting people in ways which were previously impossible (Kaye, Kowert, & Quinn, 2017).
Some of the struggle is fear-based; it is the unknown (Altvater,
Singer, & Gil, 2017, 2018). As a society, past generations have had concerns about radio, television, music, movies, and video games. Alarmist writings can be found for each of these topics. However, with each technological advancement, we have not fallen into deep despair or societal destruction. Humans have not descended into amount of change occurred, and change can be hard. Change is also instrumental in meeting previously unmet needs.
Children born within the last two decades have never known life without digital devices. We should really think about that. Much of the nostalgic history we in older generations cherish contains components and factors completely unknown to children today. Kneas and Perry (2018) have some advice for parents that seems applicable to play therapists, as well.
As parents think about the future they need to realize two things: technology is not going to go away and we are in the midst of a major sociocultural quantum shift. These technologies are
THE MIDDLE GROUND
revolutionizing the world our children will live in. So our task is to balance appropriate skill-development with technologies with the core principles and experiences necessary to raise healthy children. We must keep the core principles of healthy development in mind as (para. 15)
In addition, Landreth,
therapists: “The therapist’s re ponsibility is to go to a child’s level and hrough the med
The pros and cons to including tectechnology in the playroom matter. It is important that we assess, pay attention to, and adjust to rapy. The reason is simple, is not going to the
og y at ng
trends, particularly in play the ap . T e reaso yet complex: because technologlogy is not going to go away. Our clients need us 1) to pespeak their language and their families
ge
and 2) to be able to help them and their families life.
navigate these new aspects of life.
tools and trends, then we risk aband nin disregard their experience in fa
and to resist the incorporation and under tanding of the current abandoning our clients. We would avor of our own beliefs, judgements, serve our clients. It
and understanding of the current our clients. W
uld judgements
and desires. This does not serve our clients. It is is imperative that play therapists weigh the proweigh the pros and cons of anything incorporated into t e therapeutic pro ess o the scales of research and experiencience. Technology is no different, embrace
he therapeutic process on the chnology i
and should be enthusiastically embraced i in pla n play therapy therapy.
e playroom mat , and adjust simple,
(201 ), offfered important advice for play sponsibili
2), o ere vic fo
communicate with children through the medium with which they are most comfortable” (p. 9).
go to a c ild s l ve and ich they are
Making an Informed Decision about Technology’s Usability in Practice RACHEL ALTVATER, PSYD, LCPC, RPT-S
Play methods have changed over the past several decades. Children and adolescents more frequently prefer to engage with technological devices after school in place of traditional play methods, such as riding a bike or going to the park (Davis, 2011). Due to this sociocultural shift happening outside the playroom, technology may merit a place inside the playroom. It is important that clinicians only incorporate therapeutic tools that they are comfortable incorporating into practice (Altvater, Singer, & Gil, 2017).
Play therapy emphasizes speaking children’s language through the powers of play. Research supports traditional play therapy methods (Bratton & Ray, 2000; Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005) and innovative play therapy methods (Davis, 2011; Evans, 2012) in reducing symptomatology for a broad range of presenting concerns. So, what
16 | PLAYTHERAPY | September 2018 |
www.a4pt.org
makes traditional play methods different from innovative ones? Play is play, whether it involves tangible interactions with nature or interactive stimulation from a competitive game on a technological device.
One of the greatest intergenerational issues today is that children and adults speak completely different languages, causing a major disconnect between their communication and understanding of one another (Altvater et al., 2017). Technology facilitates 21st century language and will continue to expand in the coming decades. Embracing methods of modern dialect could facilitate copiously meeting child clients where they are and understanding their perspectives and experiences. Embracing connection, in whatever form children invite that into the playroom (technological or not), will likely enhance the process.
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