Dr. McNary knew she needed to meet Zoe right where she was. These invitations challenge play therapists to learn about, research, and understand children’s technological worlds, which ultimately provide visual opportunities to see their innermost thoughts, feelings, and relationships through the children’s virtual characters. Zoe assigned names, ages, personalities, and roles to hers. Themes of death, dying, was able to see just how much Zoe was struggling with whether or not she was going to die. Her Minecraft™ world poignantly bore witness to her struggle with concepts of life after death, including heaven, spirits, and the afterworld.
The themes in Zoe’s virtual world had not yet been revealed in her play, art, or sand trays, indicating that Minecraft™ was her initial space of safety and most comfortable medium. Over time and coupled with the deepening of the therapeutic relationship, Zoe began to externalize her inner virtual world to other mediums in the playroom. She moved and then ultimately to talk. If children can eventually access other forms of therapeutic intervention, it begs the question, does technology have a rightful place in play therapy?
In the Playroom and at Home As with any play therapy intervention, many variables must be considered when using digital play. Ethical considerations are paramount, and play therapists should receive training on using technology in the playroom. Altvater, Singer, and Gil (2018) posited that the use of technology in play therapy is likely to be ineffective if the therapist is neither competent nor comfortable with it. Furthermore, play therapists should seek training and consultation with other Registered Play Therapists/Supervisors (RPT/S) before incorporating technology into therapy. Families may seek home through the use of technology.
Technology has become a natural medium for children in which they engage and play, from which they learn, and through which they express themselves. Incorporating digital books that give voice and movement to characters into story time could enhance parent-child interactions and bonding (see Courtney & Nowakowski-Sims, this issue). Technology can be used to foster imagination, creativity, and mastery through digital art, blogging, and video creation. Families could create digital worlds and characters together through both gaming programs and art-based programs or they could create a family blog with entries highlighting outings, adventures, building projects, or cooking recipes.
6 | PLAYTHERAPY | September 2018 |
www.a4pt.org
Parents may request suggested apps, games, websites, devices, or other resources to encourage digital play. RPT/Ss should be cautious about and disadvantages, while at the same time, helping parents understand In addition, RPT/Ss should highlight guidelines for developmentally appropriate technology use under parental
supervision. Further,
media play should be used in conjunction with, and not in place of, physical activity, physical play, parent-child screen-free time, and social interactions. The AAP Council on Communications and Media (2016a) advised that children 18 to 24 months of age should avoid digital media use (aside from video chatting) and that children 2 to 5 years of age be limited to one hour per day of educational and prosocial media content. For school-aged children and adolescents, they advised families to develop media plans that strive for balance with other health-promoting activities and that do not interfere with daily recommendations for physical activity (1 hour) and sleep (8-12 hours; AAP, 2016b).
Recommendations Allowing Zoe the opportunity to bring her laptop into the playroom offered her an additional safe space for her processing and ultimately for cancer. We think it is time that play therapists join the conversation about the unique opportunities that technology offers in the playroom. Here are some recommendations for getting started: • Engage in training on incorporating technology into play therapy. • Learn about what technology clients are using at home and at school. • Consult with School-Based Registered Play Therapist (SB-RPT) counselors, psychologists, and social workers to see what play or technology-based counseling interventions are being used in school settings.
• Consult with other RPT/Ss who are trained in technology and who are incorporating technology into their practice.
• Invite clients who use digital play outside of the playroom to teach you about their favorite games or worlds (whether or not you choose to allow the digital media into the playroom).
worlds/games.
sessions with clients’ families.
• Closely monitor clients’ progress when using technology in play therapy.
• Seek supervision from an RPT-S on incorporating technology into play therapy.
Resources The following list of resources may be worthy of further exploration. technology use and children. • American Academy of Pediatrics:
https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy- and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/
Media-and-Children.aspx
• Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent- concerns
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