Play is the language of childhood — the medium through which children express what they cannot yet put into words, process their internal and external worlds, and move toward healing and growth. This talk explores anger as one of the foundational “big feelings” within the context of a play therapy perspective and Virginia Axline's principles of child centered play therapy - where the therapist recognizes and reflects the child’s expressed feelings to foster insight and self-understanding. Using a simple framework of emotional vocabulary, awareness and acceptance the talk explores how validating core emotions such as anger, sadness, fear and happiness supports emotional wellness, resilience and healthy development. Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development are referenced to help contextualize children's psychosocial needs within the context of development. Childhood aggression is explored as meaningful communication of unmet needs — often for a sense of power and control, nurture or a stronger sense of self — and the talk explores how to respond therapeutically through reflection, the facilitation of mastery, fun release of extra energy, the provision of opportunities for nurture, and clear, compassionate boundary setting. The talk explores practical limit and boundary setting tools that therapists can make use of to support the therapeutic process, empower the child client and equip parents and caregivers - with a focus on meeting the needs of the child and respecting their innate capacity for growth, healing and development.
Sections
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
Apply four types of child-centred, therapeutic limit-setting strategies that protect safety, empower the child and support the therapeutic process