our children, caring for our adult parents, transitioning from work to retirement, addressing issues of aging and mortality, contending with our health challenges and diseases as well as those of friends and loved ones, the more play becomes crucial. Play is not simply an escape or a distraction, but a legitimate and profoundly important means of expressing ourselves, navigating the developmental challenges that Erikson and others identified, and becoming fully human. Yes, love and work are clearly important, if not critical, but both seem to lose their luster in the absence of play and playfulness. I very well may deepen my thinking on this subject by creating a


survey, from which perhaps, an article in the International Journal of Play Therapy®


will emerge, followed by a book, lecture tour, and who


knows what else. But now, play is beginning to sound like work, what would be so bad if work became play and play became work? Who says that the axiom “play is the language of childhood” cannot be amended to say “play is the language of us . . . homo ludens?!” So please, try not to leave play behind.


References Elkind, D. (2008).The power of play: Learning what comes naturally. American Journal of Play, 1(1), 1-6.


Gil, E., & Rubin, L. (2005). Countertransference play: Informing and enhancing therapist self-awareness through play. International Journal of Play Therapy, 14(2), 87-102. doi:10.1037/h0088904


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Lawrence C. Rubin, Ph.D., ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S, Past-Chair APT Board of Directors, is Professor of Counselor Education at St Thomas University and the University of Massachusetts-Boston, maintains a small private practice, and is thankfully impacted by CPS-A (Chronic Playfulness Syndrome-Adult Form). lrubin@stu.edu


Sutton-Smith, B. (2008). Play theory: A personal journey and new thoughts. American Journal of Play, 1(1), 80-123.


Teitel, J. (1999). The kidnapping of play: A generation ago, play was the domain of children. Now adults play and kids don’t. What went wrong. Saturday Night, 114(3), 54-60.


Yarnal, C., & Qian, X. (2011). Older-adult playfulness: An innovative construct and measurement for healthy aging research. American Journal of Play, 4(1), 52-79.


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