Igralna terapija za otroke

Govor je glavno komunikacijsko sredstvo med odraslimi. Z njim izražamo svoje želje, čustva, misli, ideje in težave. Pri otrocih pa je igra njihovo glavno sredstvo komunikacije. Prej bomo videli dva štiriletnika, kako se skupaj igrata v peskovniku, kot da bi sedela na klopci in se pogovarjala.

Igra je sredstvo, s katerim otroci ne le komunicirajo z drugimi, ampak izražajo tudi svoja čustva, frustracije, ideje in želje. Prav skozi igro lahko predelujejo situacije, ki so jih doživeli ali jih še doživljajo. Na ta način se lažje spoprimejo z izzivi, ki so v resničnem življenju morda strašljivi, a so v igri premagljivi. V igri so lahko močni, neustrašni, lepi, oboževani in slišani.

Igralnica, prostor, kjer izvajamo igralno terapijo, je kraj, kjer otrok lahko izrazi, kar čuti in doživlja, ter postane, kdor si želi biti. Brez predsodkov in z veliko podpore, ki jo nudi Na otroka osredotočena igralna terapija, otroku damo osrednjo vlogo in mu omogočimo, da je slišan.

I am not all knowing

     Therefore, I will not even attempt to be

I need to be loved

     Therefore, I will be open to loving children

I want to be more accepting of the child in me

     Therefore, I will with wonder and awe allow children to illuminate my world

I know so little about the complex intricacies of childhood

     Therefore, I will allow children to teach me

I learn best from and am impacted most by my personal struggles

     Therefore, I will join with children in their struggles

I sometimes need a refuge

     Therefore, I will provide a refuge for children

I like it when I am fully accepted as the person I am

     Therefore, I will strive to experience and appreciate the person of the child

I make mistakes They are a declaration of the way. I am—human and fallible

  Therefore, I will be tolerant of the humanness of children

I react with emotional internalization and expression to my world of reality

     Therefore, I will relinquish the grasp I have on reality and try to enter the world as experienced by the child

It feels good to be an authority, to provide answers

     Therefore, I will need to work hard to protect children from me!

I am more fully me when I feel safe

     Therefore, I will be consistent in my interactions  with children

I am the only person who can live my life

     Therefore, I will not attempt to rule a child’s life

I have learned most of what I know from experiencing

     Therefore, I will allow children to experience

The hope I experience and the will to live come from within me

     Therefore, I will recognize and affirm the child’s will and selfhood

I cannot make children’s hurts and fears and frustrations and disappointments go away

     Therefore, I will soften the blow

I experience fear when I am vulnerable

     Therefore, I will with kindness, gentleness, and tenderness touch the inner world of the vulnerable child

Garry L. Landreth, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship